The Clock Don't Stop
by purastella
Summary: Elijah told her that it took a great deal of strength to be able to find inner peace. He said that he didn't believe he had the fortitude to find any for himself. Considering the fact that he was immortal, Bella couldn't find it in herself to care too much about his opinion. After all, what would a man who will never die know about making peace with death?
1. Chapter 1

Bella walked over to her truck and pulled out her keys, hands shaking.

They slipped out of her fingers and hit the ground with a jingle. "Damn it," she swore, leaning forward to press her forehead against the window. She felt tired and overheated, a first for her since she'd arrived in the constantly cold and dreary Forks.

 _I'm probably not going to be able to drive my truck soon,_ she thought sadly. Bella would miss being able to drive The Thing. For some reason, remembering the first nickname she'd ever given to her ancient Chevy made her want to laugh.

In all honesty, Bella should not have been driving at all in her current state, but she'd had an appointment with her doctor at the hospital and she hadn't wanted to bother Charlie. He was already upset enough with her decision, no need to go rubbing his face in it.

She finally pushed herself off the door and knelt down to pick up her keys. Just as she'd grabbed them, Bella saw someone coming up behind her. She straightened back up, forcing herself to keep her hands relaxed.

 _No need to be too alarmed_ , Bella told herself with a grim sort of humor. _Not like things could get any worse_.

Slowly turning around, Bella studied the man walking towards her. At first, he seemed like a rather unassuming man; he was African American, about 6 feet tall, and was wearing a dark green jacket and jeans. She'd never seen him before but when she looked into his dark brown eyes, framed by wire-rimmed glasses, she felt herself relax.

"Are you Isabella Swan?" he asked.

Since he wasn't a vampire, Bella decided to answer him honestly. "I am. Can I help you?"

Instead of answering, he pulled out what looked to be a linen handkerchief from his pocket. Just as Bella was wondering why he was carrying it around, she was spun around with her arms pinned at her sides and the handkerchief covering her face. She took a deep breath in order to call out for help, but a sickly-sweet smell invaded her nostrils and made her head spin. She had just enough time to realize the cloth was covered in chloroform before she fell unconscious.

Once Jonas was sure that the girl was truly passed out, he put the handkerchief back into his pocket and quickly carried her over to his car, opening the back door and laying her down in the seat. He debated tying her up but decided not to bother; he could use his magic if she got too out of control. The only reason he hadn't used it to knock her out was because he had been ordered to leave no traces of any kind behind.

As he got into the driver's seat and adjusted the rearview mirror, he glanced at the girl and then at the hospital. Jonas wondered what she had been doing there but then shrugged it off. If it was something serious, then Elijah could heal her once they got back. All that mattered was that she was brought back alive and unharmed, anything after that was out of his hands.

 **(A/N): Welcome, one and all, to my latest story! This one promises to be just heartwrenching so take a deep breath and emotionally prepare yourselves.**

 **Also, this is just a teaser to lure you all in. An actual chapter will be uploaded in the next day or so once I have all the final edits done.**

 **This chapter was betaed by Hannbells so, if there are mistakes, we will be sharing the blame!**


	2. Chapter 2

Bella could feel a light hitting her eyelids and she groaned, the faint brightness pounding its way into her head. She rolled over and pressed her face into the pillow beneath her. The light flicked off and a voice ask, "Better?"

She turned over and cracked her eyes open. A teenager was kneeling on the floor beside her and she studied his features, taking in the apologetic look in his eyes, and wondered if he was related to the man who had taken her.

"Yes," she croaked out. "Thank you."

"Here," he picked up a cup of water from the floor and placed the straw in her mouth. She took a small sip before pulling away, the small sip instantly causing her to feel nauseous.

"I'm supposed to let them know when you wake up," he told her softly. "Are you feeling up to talking?"

"Yes," Bella whispered, too tired to actually care about what he was saying; she just wanted to sleep.

He nodded and then walked out of the room. Bella heard the murmur of voices in the hall but was too tired to be bothered to try and hear what they were saying. Suddenly, a third man was in front of her, kneeling down to the floor so he could meet her gaze. His face was mostly hidden in shadow but her attention was caught and held by his hazel eyes.

"Hello," he said in an accented voice. "My name is Elijah Mikaelson."

"Bella Swan. But I'm guessing you probably knew that."

Elijah smiled slightly at her, a lock of hair falling across his forehead and covering one eye. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Swan."

Bella couldn't help but smile back at him before she winced, another throb of pain making its way through her head. "It hurts," she couldn't help whimpering.

He leaned forward on the balls of his feet. "Could you tell me what hurts? Are you ill?"

Bella couldn't help but laugh, though the small movement caused her so much pain that she began to cry. "Yes. Yes, I am ill."

"What are you ill with?"

Bella blinked at him slowly; the pain was too much for her body to handle. "I'm tired." Her eyes seemed to close on their own.

She heard him sigh and then felt a soft touch on her forehead. "Sleep now, we will speak again later." The last thing she heard were footsteps leaving the room as she slowly fell into unconsciousness again.

* * *

The room was still dark when she woke up again. Bella kept still for a moment, taking stock of her body, checking whether or not it would be safe to sit up. After she decided that she probably wasn't going to either vomit or pass out again, Bella sat up gingerly and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She noticed for the first time that there was a window on the wall across from her, letting in a soft golden light through the blinds covering it. Bella sat there for a moment, staring at the sunlight; the weather in Forks had been cloudy and cold for a couple of months now and she hadn't seen sunlight in what felt like forever.

The bedroom door opened and a head popped in. "Hey, you feeling any better?" It was the same guy as before. He opened the door all the way and walked into the room, settling down in a cross-legged position on the floor in front of her.

"Yes, thank you." Bella could feel herself blushing and she stared down at her hands. "Sorry about before." It felt a little weird apologizing to someone who had probably helped kidnap her but she couldn't help it.

"Don't worry about it," he told with an easy-going air. They sat in silence for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm Luka, by the way. Didn't get the chance to introduce myself earlier."

"Nice to meet you." It wasn't, really, but what else was there to say?

"Same to you. So, you're really sick, huh?" Bella stared at him. "My dad looked in your backpack and found your medicine for the headaches. You weren't kidding about being ill."

"Not something a person usually jokes about." Luka stared at her expectantly. Bella bit her lip and then sighed. "I have a malignant brain tumor; glioblastoma multiforme to be exact. I have about three or four weeks left to live, which is what makes this whole situation kind of weird. Why kidnap someone who's not even going to be alive for much longer?"

Luka looked stricken. "We had no idea."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, I kind of figured."

"I need to go talk to my dad. I'll be right back." He got up and almost ran out of the room. Bella thought about going after him but decided that it wasn't worth the energy.

She sat there for a while, mind blank and gaze unfocused, before she realized that she needed to go to the bathroom. After trying to decide whether or not it would be a good idea to leave the room without permission, she realized that, at this point, it really didn't matter.

Bella cautiously pulled the door open and peeked her head out. At the end of a hallway she saw Luka and the man from before, who she now realized was his father. They both turned to look at her and she smiled nervously. "Where's the bathroom?"

Luka's father narrowed his eyes at her and she shrank back slightly. Luka nudged him before giving her a smile. "Door to the left of you."

She gave him a tight grin. "Thanks."

Bella turned and walked into the bathroom. After she had finished and washed her hands she stood there for a moment and studied her reflection. Her face was pale, sallow, and there were deep bags under her eyes; she was a wreck. Why on earth would someone want to kidnap her?

There was a knock on the door. "You okay in there?" Luka called.

Bella opened the door. "Sorry," she told him softly.

"My dad and Elijah want to talk to you," he told her as he stepped back to let her walk past him.

"Okay," she whispered. "Where are they?"

"Down the hall in the living room."

Bella walked down the hallway and stepped warily into the room. Both the men looked up at her entrance and Elijah stood up when he saw her with that same small smile. "Hello again, Miss Swan. I hope you are feeling better?"

"Just Bella please. And I am feeling better, thank you." She glanced over at Luka's father and flinched back at his glare.

Elijah glanced back and frowned when he saw the man scowling at her. "Jonas," he said in a warning tone. "She is our guest. I hope you will remember to be respectful."

Jonas looked away from her and Elijah turned back to Bella. "Please, come sit." He gestured to the seat beside him.

Bella sat down, placing her hands in her lap and staring at them in order to avoid looking at any of the men in the room. From the corner of her eyes she saw a hand reaching for her and suddenly there were fingers under her chin, gently tilting her face upwards to meet Elijah's gaze. "Tell me about your illness."

"What do you want to know? I have a brain tumor. There is no cure. I'll be dead in a couple of weeks." Her exhaustion was easily heard.

"When did you realize you were ill?" Elijah's voice was still soft, gentle.

"We found out about the tumor a little over three months ago." Bella's tone and expression had become empty. "I had been exhibiting symptoms for awhile but didn't notice. The clumsiness, the headaches, the drowsiness, but it didn't seem like that big of a deal. But as the headaches grew more intense and as it became harder and harder to keep food down Charlie got worried."

"Charlie?" Luka interrupted, and Jonas glanced over at him in obvious annoyance.

"My dad. He was worried about me and he took me to the doctor. I had gotten lost in the forest by our house about two weeks before and he was worried that I had hit my head or something and that was what was wrong with me. They took some scans and found the tumor. The type of tumor I have grows quickly and at the stage it had gotten to by the time we'd finally found it meant that I have almost no chance of survival. The most they could do was prolong my life and not by much."

"So," Jonas said, leaning forward slightly. "When I found you at the hospital you were just getting finished with a round of chemotherapy? Someone is supposed to go with you to those appointments; you aren't allowed to drive yourself."

"No," Bella whispered.

Jonas seemed surprised. "Then, what were you doing there?"

"I was telling my doctors that I hadn't changed my mind about having them try radiation or chemotherapy."

"You were refusing treatment," Elijah said softly. "Why?"

Bella sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, defensive. "I'm going to die. There is no chance of surviving this. So, if I'm going to die no matter what, I don't want to suffer any more than I have to before I go. Why prolong the agony?"

"You said you only had a few weeks left?" Jonas asked, glancing over at Elijah.

"If I'm lucky. Less if I'm not." It was silent for moment before Bella turned and studied Elijah. "So, now that you know more about me, can you tell me why I'm here? If this was just a random kidnapping, I'm sure you could have done better than a terminally ill girl from Forks, Washington. So, what do you want with me?"

Elijah leaned back as well. "Now, that is a complicated story."

Bella snorted. "Yeah, well, it's not like I'm going anywhere, am I?"

Elijah nodded. "True." He paused, seemingly collecting his thoughts. "The best and simplest explanation I can give you is that there is a curse on my brother that he is trying to break and in order for him to do that, I needed to find you."

"A curse? As in magic?" Bella had never really been a believer in magic but, then again, until a few months ago she hadn't believed in vampires so obviously her education was lacking in the supernatural department.

"Yes, magic." Elijah nodded his head slightly at Jonas who sighed and then raised his hand. After a moment of concentration, a flame appeared in his palm.

Bella's eyebrows shot up. "Does it burn you or are you immune to fire?"

Luka laughed. "No, we can't feel it but we're not fire-proof. We control the flame so it doesn't hurt us."

"You don't seem surprised that magic is real," Jonas said, glaring at Bella again.

Bella shrugged. "I already knew that there are supernatural creatures in the world so magic isn't that big of a leap for me."

Elijah sat up straighter. "What supernatural creatures do you know of?"

She hesitated, unsure of what to say. These people seemed to be aware of the supernatural world but that didn't mean they knew everything. What if they didn't know about vampires and Bella ended up spilling the secret? She couldn't do that, she had promised.

Elijah seemed to understand her hesitation. "Would you feel more comfortable telling me more about what you know if I informed you of what I know?"

Bella bit her lip before slowly nodding. "Alright, then a proper introduction is in order before we continue. My name is Elijah Mikealson and I am an Original Vampire."

Her eyes widened in shock before narrowing as she carefully took in his appearance again. Elijah was tall with brown hair, tanned skin, and hazel eyes. He wasn't pale, there weren't bags under eyes, which also weren't either a vibrant red or a goldish color, and he didn't seem at all uncomfortable being surrounded by humans.

She sat back in chair with a frown. "No, you're not."

One eyebrow raised in what she guessed was surprise. "I'm not?"

"No, you're not. I've met vampires, I _know_ vampires, and you're not one."

Elijah seemed almost amused at her assertiveness. "Is that so? Tell me, what did this vampire you previously encountered look like?"

Bella just sat in her chair in stony silence.

His lips pulled up into a faint smirk as he leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. "Let me guess, this vampire was inhumanly beautiful with shockingly pale skin and bright red eyes."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "How did you-"

"That particular species of vampires are known as Cold Ones and they are not true vampires. They are pathetic imitations of true vampires and are generally looked down upon by our kind. I am curious as to how you managed to survive any encounters with them, seeing as how they are not known for their self-control."

"Would you believe me if I said that the ones I met were friendly?"

"I find that to be highly improbable."

Bella couldn't help snorting at that. "Nothing about any of this is probable yet here we are."

Elijah studied her. "You're protecting them, aren't you? The Cold Ones you previously met." Bella just stared at him with a blank expression. "How very unusual for a creature little better than a rabid beast to inspire such loyalty."

It took everything she had to stop herself from telling him that she'd take a rabid Cold Ones over a sadistic Original Vampires any day. "Prove it."

"What?" snapped Jonas.

"Prove it," she repeated. "If you want me that you're a vampire and that I can trust you with what I know, then you need to prove it."

"We do not have to prove anything," Jonas growled. "You have no control here. We-"

Elijah lifted a hand and stayed Jonas' words. "Your unwillingness to betray those that have taken you into their confidences is an admirable trait. However, you would do well to mind your words around those who have shown they are stronger than you. Not everyone is as willing to overlook what could be seen as a slight as I."

His face changed then, fangs elongating and eyes turning red with what looked like black veins pulsing underneath them.

Bella's eyes widened and she leaned in towards Elijah, studying his face. "Does it hurt when your face changes?"

Elijah eyebrows rose slightly before he chuckled, his face returning to normal. "In the beginning it did, but now it's an easy transition."

Bella nodded and sat back in her seat. "So, you're a vampire. A real one, not a Cold One."

"Indeed." Elijah stared intently at Bella. "I am one of the first vampires created. Now that I have proven what I have said to be true, I believe it's your turn."

She sighed but nodded, taking a moment to gather her thoughts before speaking. "I moved to Forks to live with my dad earlier this year. On my first day of school I met the Cullen's." Bella hesitated, wondering how much she should tell them.

Elijah sat back, already beginning to understand. "I see, you met some of Carlisle's coven."

"You know Carlisle?"

"Most older vampires know of the Cullen's and the Denali's; their lifestyle choice makes them something of an enigma. The fact that they are some of the only ones of their kind who consistently attempt to integrate themselves into human society also causes them to stand out."

Bella could understand that. Even by human standards, the Cullen's were an unusually large family but she also knew that by vampire standards, the Cullen's were considered a ridiculously large and powerful clan and were second only to the Volturi. Once she thought about it, it wasn't surprising that they were discussed throughout the supernatural world.

Luka frowned. "I thought that Cold Ones couldn't blend in with humans because of how they have to feed; people start getting suspicious if bodies drained of blood begin piling up or their friends start turning into sparkly rocks with red eyes."

"This particular coven manages to blend in by staying in rainy places and only feed off of animals, which turns their eyes a golden color," Jonas told him, and Bella was surprised by his knowledge.

"Is it safe to assume then," Elijah brought the conversation back on topic. "That you became entangled with one of the Cullen's and that is how you came to find out about the supernatural?"

Bella hesitated but, in the end, she decided that she might as well tell them the entire story so that at least someone would remember the idiotic girl who ran with vampires and got burned, because she was positive the Cullen's had forgotten about her by now. She told them of how Edward had looked and acted during their class together, how she figured out he was a vampire, and how she had fallen in love with him. The self-loathing was clear in her voice and caused the other men in the room to frown. When she told them about James and of what had happened in Phoenix, Luka had sworn and even Jonas looked angered on her behalf. Elijah's eyes only tightened in response to her words. She told them how Edward had almost broken up with her at the hospital but she had begged him to stay and he had agreed. She glossed over the months after while she'd recovered and had haltingly told them of what happened at her disastrous birthday party and the family's departure, including the break-up with Edward, as a result.

They all sat in silence until Elijah held out his hand towards Bella. "May I see the scar?"

Bella held out her arm in response and he pushed up her sleeve up so he could examine the bite mark. After studying it closely and running his fingers over it so lightly she almost thought he hadn't actually touched it, he let go of her and linked his fingers together, continuing to watch her. "Have you noticed any changes since you were bitten?"

She frowned. "No, but Edward sucked the venom out so it shouldn't have, right?"

"I do not believe that there has ever been a human who survived being bitten without transitioning, which leaves me unsure as to whether or not there would be any side-effects. I would, however, like to run some tests if you would be agreeable."

Bella shrugged. "I don't mind; it's not like I'm not used to it at this point."

Elijah frowned. "Yes, the issue of your illness does pose a bit of a problem. You see, I will need you alive in order to convince my brother to come here."

"Yeah, about that," she started. "What exactly is my role here in the breaking of his curse."

"Simply put, in order for his curse to break, you will have to die."

"Fantastic," Bella groaned. "Nice to know that I was literally fated to die at the hands of a supernatural creature. I mean, I'd figured I would but it's nice to have some solid conformation." She paused for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. "Why me? What makes me so special?"

"You are a doppelgänger," Elijah told her. "Meaning that you are an exact copy when it comes to looks as at least one of your ancestors."

"I know what it means," Bella snaps. "So, I'm literally going to die because I lost in the genetic lottery?"

"It's a bit more complicated than that," Luka told her.

"Whatever. If I need to be alive in order for your brother to break his curse," Bella advised Elijah. "Then you should probably contact him now and hope for the best." A new wave of exhaustion hit her then and she leaned her head back against her head rest.

"You're very accepting of this entire situation," Jonas said, the suspicion clear in his tone.

Bella laughed slightly, her head lolling to the side and her eyes opening slightly to meet Jonas' gaze. "What exactly are you having trouble getting? I'm _dying._ Whether I die now or I die later, it doesn't change anything. There's no point in fighting the inevitable; it'll just kill me quicker. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to say? You've already made it clear that there's no escaping you, what with your witchy voodoo, and the fact that I can barely get around on my own without passing out means I wouldn't get too far even if I did get past you. Not that there would really be any point in me escaping because I don't have much to get back to. So tell me, _what do you want me to say?_ "

Jonas seemed thrown by her response and just stared at her before sighing and running his fingers through his hair. "I apologize for my words but I'm sure you can't fault me for being careful."

Bella nodded and closed her eyes again. Luka got up and knelt down by her chair. "Hey, you okay?"

"Tired," she murmured.

"Okay, why don't we get you some food and then you can head back to bed. You're probably hungry, right?" Luka straightened up and leaned over to help Bella to her feet.

She grimaced at the thought of food. "I'm not sure if eating would be a good idea for me right now…"

"You need to eat," Jonas told her, his tone regaining its previous sternness. "We have some broth for you to have- that will be easier on your stomach. You need to eat as much as you can after having an episode like you did earlier."

Bella sighed but nodded, though she doubted that she'd be able to keep it down for long. Luka told her to go lie down and he'd bring the food to here. She smiled gratefully at him before shuffling down the hall and into her room without a backwards glance.

Once she was out of sight, Elijah turned to Jonas. "There's nothing you can do for her, is there?" he asked, though he was already sure of the answer.

Jonas shook his head. "Not with that. There's no supernatural cause to her illness. Any magic that could possibly save her would need more power than we currently have and would have consequences."

Elijah nodded. "I see. Would giving her my blood be at all helpful?"

Jonas eyebrows shot up. "Yes," he said slowly, shocked that Elijah would go so far as to give the girl his blood, something he had never seen the Original do. "However, it would only be a temporary fix. Your blood has the ability to heal injuries, but this isn't an injury; it would slow the growth rate of the tumor and ease its effects but it wouldn't erase the tumor itself."

Elijah nodded and stood up, walking into the kitchen and over to where Luka was preparing the broth for Bella. He made a cut on his palm and allowed his blood to fall into the bowl. Once the wound healed, he wiped the excess blood off his hand with a towel and pulled out a spoon, stirring the mixture together.

He handed the bowl to Luka. "Make sure you don't spill," he warned. Luka nodded and took the bowl before carefully walking down the hall and into Bella's room. Elijah turned back to Jonas. "Monitor her condition and note how much of an effect it has. I need to know whether or not this is a viable option for keeping her alive until the ritual."

Jonas nodded and then hesitated for a moment before asking, "When do you plan on telling Klaus about her?"

Elijah sighed and adjusted the sleeves of his dress shirt. "After we know whether or not the blood will be able to extend her life, I will contact Niklaus and being preparing for his impending arrival."

Jonas nodded again before standing up and walking over to the dining room table, grabbing a few grimoires off a shelf and sitting down. "I'll start reading through these and see if there's any spells that could help as well."

Elijah waved a hand dismissively, pulling out his phone and checking for any messages. The men sat in silence, each of their thoughts turned to the young, sickly girl in the next room.

 **(A/N): Hello! Thank you for your patience, the edits took a bit more time than I had hoped. Also, I'm currently living in Japan and this time difference is making it a bit more difficult to work through issues with my beta reader so sorry to all of you who were eagerly awaiting this.**

 **This fic was inspired by the song The Clock Don't Stop by Carrie Underwood, which I recommend everyone go and listen to when they get the chance. It's definitely going to be a lot sadder and more serious than _Things Unknown_ but I promise that my Bella is going to be as sassy as ever. ****Since she basically knows she has an expiration date, she's going to be of the mindset of what has she got to lose?** **This story will also be a definite romance. That doesn't mean that there isn't going to be any focus on other relationships that will be happening, such as the ones between Bella and the friends she'll make, but her and Elijah's story will play a big role.**

 **I just wanted to make it clear what this story is going to be about so that everyone here is clear. If you do have questions though, please feel free to leave them in a review or even PM me! I always love to hear what you all are thinking!**

 **This chapter has again been betaed by the beautiful, spectacular Hannbells so much love should be sent her way for reading through everything I've sent her in the last two days. She has my thanks, as do all of you readers. Thanks for dropping by!**


	3. Chapter 3

Bella was curled up on her side in bed when Luka entered the room. He set a bowl down on the nightstand next to her and then wrapped an arm around Bella, carefully helping her into a seated position.

"Thanks," Bella whispered.

"No problem," he told her with that same easy-going grin he'd had before, and she wondered when the last time she had felt that happy had been. Then she wondered how often his father did things like kidnapping for him to be so blasé about the whole situation. "Brought you some broth," he interrupted her thoughts. "Figured Are you okay with lifting it yourself? I kind of overfilled it."

Bella eyed the bowl and tears filled her eyes as she realized that she wouldn't be able to; she could barely keep her head up by herself let alone lift the heavy bowl.

Luka saw her eyes begin to water. "Hey," he said, softly, grabbing one of her hands. "It's okay. One way or another, everything'll be okay."

She blinked slowly at him, too tired to say anything in return. He seemed to understand and lifted the bowl to her lips so she could sip at it. After she drank about half of the bowl, Luka set it aside and then piled up her pillows so that she wouldn't strain herself sitting up.

"So, you've been having some pretty shitty luck, huh?"

Bella stared at Luka in shock before letting out a short, bitter laugh. "Yeah, that's one way of saying it."

"Edward Cullen kind of sounds like a douche," he commented, settling down more comfortably next to her on the bed, leaning back against the wall her bed was set next to. "It's cool though that you kept their secret even after what they did to you."

"Self-preservation," she murmured. "Running around claiming that vampires are real generally leads to a one-way ticket into an asylum."

Luka hummed in agreement. "How's your head?"

"Better. Whatever you guys snuck into the broth worked." Bella smirked in response to his surprise. "Wasn't that hard to figure out- I started out feeling like my brain was going to bleed out of my ears and then things turned all clear skies and sunshine after a few mouthfuls. I'm dying, not dumb."

He laughed. "Yeah, should've seen that coming. Sorry, we just wanted to see if it would work."

"No need to apologize," she murmured, starting to drift off. "Not like it's my first time being the guinea pig."

They sat in silence for a few moments before he heard Bella shift and he turned to see that she had fallen asleep. Luka felt his heart clench at the sight of her peaceful expression. He wanted his sister back, he really did, but could they really just use Bella like this after everything she'd been through?

There was movement from the doorway and he saw his dad standing there. "How is she?" he asked Luka, keeping his voice low in order to not wake Bella.

Luka stood up, covering Bella with a blanket before grabbing the bowl and walking over to his dad and out of the room, closing the door behind him. "She seems okay," he finally answered. "She drank about half the bowl and it didn't make her sick."

Jonas studied his son. "You're uncomfortable with her being used as the sacrifice."

It wasn't a question, but Luka answered him anyway. "It just doesn't seem fair; haven't things been crappy enough for her already?"

"I know it's not," Jonas told him, resting a hand on his shoulder. "But it's what needs to be done. Her days are numbered- at least this way, we can offer her some comfort before she dies. It's more than she would receive at her home or in the hospital."

Luka nodded, knowing his father was partially right, but he knew that they were really just trying to find a way to turn the situation into something other than it was; something that wouldn't make them seem like absolute trash human beings.

They walked back into the living room where Elijah was waiting. "So, it would seem that my blood does assist in alleviating some of her symptoms," he stated, letting them know that he had heard their conversation. "How long will each dose be effective?"

"I don't know," Jonas admitted. "I've never read of anything like this being done before so we'll just have to wait and see."

Elijah nodded moved to grab his jacket. "I will go out and retrieve some things that Miss Swan will need for the duration of her stay here. Please let me know if there is anything you need me to get or if she falls ill again."

Jonas and Luka watched him leave in silence before they both went over to the table and started going through their grimores.

* * *

When Bella woke up for the third time, she was feeling better than she had in months. She slid out of bed and walked down to the living room. Jonas was sitting at the table reading a book and looked up at the sound of her footsteps, studying her carefully. "How are you feeling?" he asked, setting his book aside.

Bella hesitantly took a few steps towards him. "Good," she answered, the surprise clear in her voice. "Really good, actually. I haven't felt this good since I first got sick."

Jonas nodded and headed into the kitchen. "I'm going to make you something that will be easy on your stomach. You need to try and eat as much of it as possible."

She nodded, even though she got the sense that her willing compliance wasn't all that important to him. "Thanks."

He seemed surprised by her politeness. "I'm just doing as instructed."

"All the same," Bella told him. She sat down at the table, careful not to disturb any of the papers covering the surface.

It was silent for a few moments as Jonas prepared the food. He glanced over to Bella and noticed she was staring at the bookshelves lining the room. "You can read any book on the shelves by the couch," he informed her. "All other books are off limits."

Bella nodded and went over to the books, looking them over carefully before choosing a collection of Sherlock Holmes' stories and bringing it over to the table. She tried to focus on the words but she couldn't help sneaking glances over at Jonas frequently. Part of her really wanted to ask him some questions but she also didn't want to push her luck. Now that she felt more clear-headed, Bella was truly aware of just how dangerous of a position she was currently in. Last night, she had been so tired and confused that she hadn't really comprehended everything that had happened, but she did now.

She hadn't been lying though when she said that she didn't see a point in trying to escape. Bella knew her life was slipping away quicker with every passing moment and she had gotten to the point where she was just drifting through days, waiting to die. As long as they didn't beat her or otherwise mistreat her, then she was as fine with dying here as she was with dying in Forks. To be honest, she'd prefer to not be in Forks right now since she didn't want her dad to have to watch the life slowly drain out of her.

Jonas came over and set a plate of scrambled eggs, toast, and a small bowl of applesauce in front of her along with a glass of juice. Bella picked up the piece of toast and started nibbling on it as Jonas retook his seat. "What?" he finally asked, when he couldn't ignore her glances anymore.

"Are you going to kill me?" Her blunt question surprised him but she continued speaking before he could answer. "I know you said I have to die for this whole curse business, but will it be you or Elijah that kills me?

He considered whether or not he should lie to her before he decided that there was no point in doing so. "We're not going to be the ones that kill you."

Bella nodded, seemingly unsurprised. "So, it'll be the brother then. Will it hurt?"

"That depends on what is going on at the time." Or more specifically, how Klaus was feeling at the moment. "I can't guarantee one way or the other. I can tell you that no matter what, it'll be quick."

"Well, that's something at least," Bella muttered. She finished eating her breakfast and they spent the rest of the morning in relative silence, each reading their respective books.

* * *

Jonas received a call from Elijah at noon. From what she could tell, he just seemed to be checking in to see how things were going. Bella listened intently to Jonas' side of the conversation, trying to discern more about both his and Elijah's personalities. Yesterday's conversation had seemed to pass in such a blur that she'd had trouble keeping up with everything, let alone try to understand the nuances of each man.

Luka, she could tell, was the most sympathetic and easy-going of the bunch. Bella had a vague sense that he was uncomfortable with what was happening to her and that he was upset at what the Cullen's had done to her. It was sweet of him to be sad on her behalf, but she felt it was unnecessary. Her fate was set, curse or no curse, though she had previously been amused at the irony of the fact that the girl who was vampire bait would end up falling to a non-supernatural doom. It seemed the world couldn't even let her have that small amount of amusement.

If Luka was easy-going, then Jonas was strict and pragmatic. He would do what needed to be done, regardless of the cost, in order to achieve his goal. Bella had no idea what that goal might be, but she could almost sense that Jonas was keeping his focus on the end of this instead of what was happening currently. She didn't resent him for that though, whatever he was trying to accomplish must be important if he was willing to go to such lengths as kidnapping in broad daylight to achieve it. Being able to study him now with a clearer head, she couldn't help but notice that he seemed almost sad. Sad, and tired, just like her. As long as she didn't provoke him, Bella didn't think he'd do anything to hurt her.

Elijah was an absolute mystery to her. He had the air of a gentleman but his eyes were just… empty. When he looked at her, it felt like he wasn't really seeing her. Like she wasn't important enough to notice. Which she wasn't. He was a vampire, and not just any vampire but one of the first in creation, and she was just a human girl that hadn't even been good enough for a Cold One. Still though, his ambivalence concerned her. Jonas and Luka may have had their witchy powers and be the ones in the closest amount of contact with her, but she knew that Elijah was the one who was most dangerous. He was the puppet-master, which wasn't too surprising really. He was a vampire, after all.

Jonas setting a plate of food down in front of her pulled her from her thoughts. She nodded in thanks to him but kept quiet, eating the food given to her without really tasting it. He kept an eye on her in order to make sure she ate but otherwise left Bella to her thoughts, which she greatly appreciated. She was well aware of Jonas' suspicions and knew that her best bet was to just keep a low profile. While her list of questions about the situation kept growing the more time she was allowed to sit and think about it, Bella had the sense that Jonas wasn't the person to go to for answers- Luka would probably be her best bet.

By the time Luka arrived home, Bella had finished reading several books and was about to start bouncing off the walls in boredom.

"Look who's up!" he greeted her with a grin.

"Hey! How's it going?" Bella responded.

"Same old, same old. School was as long and soul-draining as always." Luka fell into the seat next to hers at the table. "I have a shit-ton of math homework. What have you been up to all day?"

Bella shrugged. "Read." At Luka's surprised look she hastily added, "It was nice though, this is the first time in ages I was able to go through a day without frequent bouts of napping and vomiting."

Luka glanced between her and his father, who had kept his focus on the papers in front of him. "Have you spent all day sitting here at the table?"

Her eyes widened in shock. "How'd you know that?"

He laughed. "You do know you're allowed to sit on the couch, right? No one's stopping you from taking the five extra steps into the living room and turning on the television."

Bella couldn't help but glance at Jonas. "I figured it'd be better to just stay here." _In your father's line of sight_ , was left unsaid.

Luka sighed, understanding what she was getting at before shooting her a small grin. "You have to be the most considerate kidnapee in the history of kidnappings."

"I do my best," she returned dryly.

Jonas cleared her throat. "I have to go out tonight, so you'll be in charge, Luka." He shifted to lock eyes with Bella. "If you try anything-"

"It's cool, Dad," Luka quickly interrupted. "Bella and I will just chill out here; she's made it pretty clear that she's not going anywhere and I believe her."

Bella shot a small smile at the other teenager. Jonas sighed, seemingly exasperated by his sons trust in her, but didn't say anything. The two teens took that as a sign that the conversation was finished and Bella moved to the couch to watch TV while Luka pulled out his math homework to get started on.

* * *

As soon as had Jonas left for the evening, the atmosphere in the room instantly turned relaxed. Bella stood up and meandered back to the table, glancing over at what Luka was working on. "You're supposed to divide there, not subtract."

Luka frowned, rechecking his work. "Damn, you're right." He sighed and threw down his pencil. "I'm done; there's no way I'm going to be able to do anymore work without food first." He stood up and walked into the kitchen. "I would ask if you wanted anything, but I was given strict instructions to feed you dinner."

"Yes, well, wouldn't want me to die sooner than specified, right?" Bella threw out sarcastically. Even with his back turned, Bella could tell that Luka had flinched at her words. "C'mon, you knew one of us would have to bring it up."

Luka turned back to her with a sigh. "What do you wanna know?" He had already decided to answer as many of her questions as he could since he really did feel bad for her.

"Your dad told me I was going to die but he forgot to mention exactly when this is all going to go down. What's the timeframe here?"

"I don't know for sure," he admitted. "I know it's going to happen on a full moon, but the exact date hasn't been decided yet."

Bella nodded slowly. "Elijah said I was needed in order for his brother to break the curse. Do you know what he meant by that? Why am I needed?"

Luka hesitated. "I'm not sure if that's something I should be answering. It's not like you're knowing would do anything, just I'm not sure how cool Elijah would be with me telling you everything."

"Fair enough. What can you tell me?"

He sighed. "Elijah's brother is trying to break a curse that was put on him a long time ago. He needs you to break the curse, which is why Elijah's been trying to find you so that he can stop him."

"What kind of curse is it?" Bella couldn't help but be intrigued by the idea of magic and curses.

"No idea. All the details have been kept quiet and I'd rather not risk my neck by digging around where I have no business being at."

"Why is Elijah trying to stop his brother?" Despite the fact that all Bella knew about magic came from fantasy books and movies, she knew that curses weren't good and generally seemed pretty painful for those suffering them. If Elijah wanted to keep his brother under a curse, there had to be a very good reason it. At least, she hoped there was. If there wasn't, then Elijah would have to be pretty sadistic and that didn't bode well for her time here.

"I'm not sure," Luka hedged. "Klaus is known throughout the supernatural world for being dangerously unhinged and leaving a trail of corpses behind him everywhere he goes. He needs to be stopped."

Bella frowned. "So, Elijah isn't just trying to keep his curse from being broken; he's trying to take Klaus down."

Luka sighed in frustration. "Look, it doesn't really matter what Elijah is planning on doing. It's not like you'll be around to see it anyway." Bella flinched and sat back in her chair. "Crap. I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that."

"It's not like you're wrong," she muttered.

He fidgeted for a moment, trying to find the right words, before sighing and moving to start on dinner.

 _It's not like you'll be around to see it anyway._ Bella pushed his words away, refusing to think on them. She'd told herself every cliché in the book: it's out of her hands, the cards had already been dealt, what would be would be, and, finally, what's done is done. There was no use dwelling on the negatives because thinking about it wouldn't change anything- wouldn't change the end to her story.

Bella moved back into the living room and started mindlessly flipping through channels till she found a random sit-com. The smell of food slowly drifted through the apartment as each teen was lost in their respective thoughts.

Luka had just finished placing dinner on the table when there was a knock at the door. He froze in surprise for a moment before walking over to check and see who it was. Bella stood, hesitating between staying where she was and going back to her room and hiding.

"Elijah," Luka opened the door and greeted. "My father didn't mention that you'd be stopping by tonight."

"I just came to drop off some things for Miss Swan." Elijah stepped into the apartment and locked eyes with Bella. "I take it you are feeling better this evening?"

Bella nodded before dropping her eyes. "Yes, much better." There was a pause as Bella struggled to find something to say. "How are you this evening?" she finally settled on.

He gave her that same polite but distant smile. "Well enough." He walked over to her and set several bags down in front of her. "I took the liberty of purchasing you some new clothes and several other items I thought you may need while staying here."

"Thank you," Bella automatically responded, staring down at the bags in surprise. They were all from high-end stores and she could tell that he had to have spent what seemed like a small fortune to her. "You didn't need to spend so much though."

It was faint, but Bella was sure she spotted a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "It was no trouble. I do hope I judged your size correctly."

Bella knelt down and pulled out a shirt, checking the size of it, and then pulled out a pair of jeans to do the same. "You guessed right," she told him, pushing the clothes back into the bag and blushing when she spotted a few bras and several pairs of underwear. Well, he was thorough, she'd give him that. "I'll just go put these in my room," she told them, eager for an escape.

After she'd left, Elijah turned to look her Luka expectantly. "She hasn't been sick at all today," Luka started. "She hasn't tried to escape or even hide in her room; she sat at the table all day with my dad so that he'd have an easier time keeping an eye on her." He hesitated for a moment before slowly adding, "She has been asking some questions about the ritual but nothing super specific; just wants to know how she's going to die and what the curse is."

Elijah considered him for a moment. "Do you believe she is asking about the curse in order to try and find a way to escape?"

Luka instantly shook her head. "No, she just seems curious. I really don't think she's going to try and escape. Honestly, it seems like she's accepted she's going to die and has stopped caring about how that's going to happen."

"Do you believe that she is suicidal?"

"No, she's not suicidal. She just seems… tired. I think Bella accepted that she was going to die before this all happened and she's just past caring how she's going to go out now."

Having heard Isabella's story, that didn't come as such a shock to Elijah. She had been through more than her fair share of pain for one so young, but she seemed to be bearing the effects of those experiences with a grace Elijah had rarely seen in this age, especially for a human. "Has she made any requests?"

"I doubt she knows she can," Luka responded, shrugging. "Pretty sure most kidnappers aren't super concerned with the hostages comforts."

"Yes, well," Elijah responded, calm expression still set. "I am not most kidnappers."

There was a snort from the hallway and both men turned to see Bella standing in the hallway, face flushed a deep red. "Sorry," she blurted, hesitantly stepping fully into the room. "Just…" her voice trailed off, too embarrassed to continue.

Elijah's lips quirked upwards but didn't press her. "Miss Swan, is there anything else you would like us to get you for while you are here?"

Bella shuffled back and forth, deliberating on whether making her request would be acceptable or seen as some sort of trick. "Would I be allowed to write my dad a letter?" she finally whispered.

"A letter?" Elijah was slightly bemused by the nature of her request.

"I just want to let him know that I'm okay," Bella quickly explained. "I won't say anything about where I am or who I'm with."

He studied her for a moment, judging her sincerity. "Why a letter?"

She blinked at him in surprise. "Well, my dad wouldn't trust an email because anyone could have hacked my account and written to him. And I figured a phone call wouldn't be allowed for obvious reasons. With a letter, he can check my handwriting to be sure it's really me writing him so he would hopefully be more likely to believe it."

This time, the small smile Elijah gave her seemed genuine and she felt an odd clench in her stomach. "As long as you follow my instructions, I will allow you to call your father." Bella's eyes lit up. "However," he cautioned. "Should you say anything about where you are or who you are with, you will find your stay here much less comfortable. Are we clear?"

Bella nodded eagerly, happy to be granted this unexpected allowance. "Of course; whatever you say." Elijah pulled a phone out of his pocket and held it out towards her. "I can call him now?" she asked, hesitantly taking a step towards him.

"Consider this a show of faith."

She studied him for another moment before taking the phone from him. "I don't think faith is something you've found easy to come by."

"Perhaps," he told her softly. "I am hoping you will prove me wrong."

Bella snorted. "I don't mean to hurt my chances here, but I've found faith to be nothing more than a fickle bitch. And let's not even get started on hope." She glanced down at the phone, her tone turning bittersweet. "All things considered though, your chances are probably better than mine."

"To what chances are you referring to?"

She glanced up at him. "All of them."

 **(A/N): What's up guys? Hope you enjoyed this chapter, which was once again betaed by the lovely Hannbells! As most of you probably noticed, I did update the summary for this story. I loved the quote I used previously, and I feel that it does fit really well with this story, but it didn't tell you anything about what this story was about and that's not really fair. Hope the new one is better!**

 **Some people have been asking about my other story, _Things Unknown,_ and when it will be updated. The answer to that is: I have no idea. Chapter 8 just isn't flowing the way I'd like at the moment. Oddly enough, Chapter 9 has been coming along well, so that's something I guess. Not really great for you all, but I'm appreciating having some idea of direction for right now.**

 **Thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys are the best!**


	4. Chapter 4

Bella had no trouble remembering Charlie's cell phone number off the top of her head; it was just pressing the call button that was causing her problems.

Charlie had been a rock ever since they first found out she was ill. While Renee had chosen to stay in Florida with her new husband, only visiting occasionally when she had free time, Charlie had been with her every step of the way. Other than the appointment she'd had a few days earlier, he'd come with her to the doctor's every time, helped make sure she took all her meds, and stayed with her on the days when she was unable to look after herself. He did it all without complaint, but Bella could still tell that having to see her like that killed him a little more every day.

As weird and probably mentally unhealthy as it was, Bella was a little glad that she was apparently an integral part of breaking a mystical curse solely for the fact that it meant she wouldn't have to make Charlie watch her die. It may hurt him now that he wasn't able to be with her in her final days, but Bella would suffer alone if it meant that her dad would be able to still remember her as she used to be instead of how she would end up.

After taking a deep breath and forcing herself to ignore both Elijah's and Luka's presence, Bella hit the green button and then quickly put the phone on speaker. It rang three times before someone finally answered. "Swan residence."

"Billy?" Bella asked, confused. "Why are you answering my dad's phone?"

"Bella?" he breathed.

"Yeah, Billy, it's me. Where's my dad? Is he alright? Did something happen?" Her mind started spinning, thinking up all the terrible things that could have happened since she'd left.

"He's fine, Bella, I just finally got him to lie down. He's been running himself ragged trying to find you. What the hell were you thinking, leaving like that? Where are you?" His tone had quickly changed from relief to concerned and finally settled on suspicious. "Are you with the Cullen's?"

Bella took a deep breath. "No, I'm not with the Cullen's. Would you please go wake up my dad? I want to talk to him."

"Now is not the time to be reckless, Bella," Billy told her, obviously doubting her words.

"Well, considering the fact I'm dying, I would think that now actually is the best time to be reckless," Bella snapped back.

There was a choked off snort to the side, which she assumed was Luka, but Bella just continued to glare at the wall as if Billy would be able to feel her stare through the line. She heard a muffled voice in the background which she thought might be Jacob and then she heard her dad.

" _What's going on, Billy? Is that Bella?"_ The hope in Charlie's voice made her wince.

More muffled noises and then Charlie's voice became clear. "Bella? Is that you?"

"Yeah, Dad," she choked. "It's me."

"Bella," he sighed in relief. "Thank god. Where are you? What the hell happened?"

"I'm okay," she sought to reassure him. "I'm safe."

"What does that mean?"

"It means," she struggled. "It means that I'm okay, but I'm not coming back to Forks."

Charlie was quiet for a moment. "Renee says you haven't contacted her either."

"I'm not with Mom." Bella desperately tried to remember what she had planned on telling him in the moments before she'd called. "You've been so great these past few months and I love you so much for that, but I couldn't stay in Forks anymore. And it's not because of you or the Cullen's or anything that happened while I was there- it's because I don't want you to watch me die."

"Bella-"

"Please, Dad," she interrupted, the tears she'd been trying so hard to hold back finally breaking free. "I need to say this. I need you to know that you were the best dad I could have hoped to have and that I'm sorry I wasn't a better daughter. I fought visiting you in Forks for so many years growing up because I didn't like it there and then when I did finally come to stay with you for longer than just a few weeks, I wasted so much time on some boy. I'm so sorry for that- for all that wasted time."

"I don't blame you for any of that," Charlie told her, his voice just as choked.

"I know, but I do. I know I messed up, and I'm so sorry, but I can't do it again- I can't hurt you like that again."

"Leaving isn't the answer, Bells," he argued. "You can't do this alone."

"I'm not alone," she told him, unable to resist glancing over at Elijah and Luka. "I'm with friends. I'm going to stay with them for now."

"The Cullen's?" he guessed, sounding disappointed.

She pressed her lips together, trying to shove down the lump in her throat. "I guess I deserve that." Bella closed her eyes, doing her best to block out her audience. "I am not with any of the Cullen's, nor do I have any intention of trying to get in contact with them. In fact, should any of them call you looking for me, I'd appreciate it if you didn't let them know what was going on. There's enough going on right now that neither of us need to be dealing with that bullshit."

Charlie made a sound like he was choking on something, obviously shocked at her language. "Whatever you say, Bells," he finally stammered.

They were both silent for a moment. "I guess I better go," Bella finally whispered, just wanting the conversation to be over. She'd started off really wanting to talk to him but now she just wanted this to be over. She wanted to hang up, crawl into bed, and not get out until it was her time to die.

"Am I going to talk to you again?" Charlie immediately asked, and Bella could tell he was also fighting back tears.

"I love you," Bella responded. "I'm so sorry."

"I love you, too," Charlie answered. "Bella-"

"Bye." She hung up the phone and almost threw it back at Elijah.

Luka took a step towards her. "Hey, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Bella told them, blinking rapidly. "Thanks so much for letting me call him." Elijah didn't say anything, just continued to stare at her intently. "I think I'm going to go to bed now." She turned and raced to her room without waiting for a response.

When Luka moved to follow her, Elijah held up a hand to stop him. "Perhaps you could get Miss Swan's dinner ready while I go speak with her."

Luka nodded at the order and moved towards the kitchen. As Elijah neared her room, he could hear Isabella crying softly. After knocking softly, he waited a moment until she opened the door and peered up at him. Her eyes were rimmed red and she trembled slightly, despite her best attempts to seem strong. "What's up?" she asked, clearing her throat.

"I was told you had some questions about the ritual."

She blinked at him before giving a small, almost hysterical laugh. "Yeah, well, as Luka kindly pointed out to me, it doesn't really matter, does it? It's going to happen and I'm going to die so the details don't really matter."

Elijah's tone softened. "You have a right to know how you're going to die."

Bella clenched her shaking fists and spoke without thinking. "Considering the fact that I'm your victim, not your guest, I think we can quit with the crap about my 'rights'. I have the right to know about how I'm going to die? Well, most people would also say that I have the right to go outside when I want to or call people when I feel like it or even choose when I want to have a goddamn meal but that's not going to happen anytime soon."

She hadn't even noticed the glimmer of warmth in his eyes until it abruptly disappeared.

"I'm sorry," Bella hastily interrupted before he could turn and leave. "I didn't mean to sound like that. Just that phone call… it felt like every mistake I made was being shoved into my face. It's all I can think about now- every way I messed up and how I'll never get the chance to make it better." She bit her lip, trying to sort out her thoughts. "I know that compared to you, I'm too young to have made that many bad decisions in my life but I have realized that I was living by that whole idea of go big or go home so when I did mess up it was always done in a spectacular way. And I know that you can't make up for mistakes; it's not like numbers where a positive number can cancel out a negative one. But that doesn't change the fact that I had hoped I could and now I never will and once I'm dead, all those glaring mistakes will be all I'm remembered by." She roughly wiped away her tears with the sleeve of her shirt.

Elijah studied her for a moment. "From what you have told me, you did not set out to hurt anyone and the mistakes you made were done with pure intentions."

"Maybe, but that doesn't make it better."

"No," he said softly. "No, it does not."

Bella stared up at him, dark eyes displaying all the pain she felt. "What do I do now? Where do I go from here?"

Elijah felt a brief flicker of regret before he quickly pushed the feeling aside. "Now you find a way to make peace with your past so that you can go with no regrets."

"Those are some wise words from someone who can't die."

His lips quirked. "It takes a great deal of strength to be able to find peace. Unfortunately, I do not believe I have the fortitude to do so for myself."

"Well then, it's a good thing you'll never have to, isn't it?"

* * *

Bella was curled up on the couch when Luka came home the next day. "I'm home," he called, beyond relieved to have escaped from school.

"It's not necessary for you to announce yourself every time you open the door," Bella responded without looking away from the T.V. "You're the only other person who lives here that wasn't currently home so it's pretty much a guarantee that you're the one coming back."

Luka flopped down onto the couch next to her, dislodging her feet. "Not necessarily. What if it was Elijah dropping by?"

"Well, that would have been pretty shocking considering that fact that he's in the kitchen right now," Bella told him with a smirk. Luka straightened up immediately and glanced over to see the vampire in question a few feet away talking with his father. "Also, since Elijah has manners, he would've knocked and waited for someone to answer the door."

"Alright, you've made your point," he conceded, good-naturedly. After a moment of silence, he finally noticed what was on the television. "Are you watching Buffy?" He couldn't control the incredulity in his tone.

"Yep. Figured it was appropriate, given the situation and all." Bella pursed her lips slightly in order to hide her grin.

"'Cause you're a monster magnet?" Luka teased.

"Nope. Because I am the chosen one. The one girl in all the world and all that rot."

Luka was glad that Bella was too focused on the show to notice his wince and the way Elijah paused while speaking. He'd wondered if his father or Elijah had planned on mentioning Elena to her and it seemed that he had his answer. Luka wondered how Bella would react if she learned that there was another option for the sacrifice. Would she demand to know why she had been chosen instead of Elena? Would she finally try to fight back? Or would she tell herself that she was the better choice since she was already dying and leave it at that?

He hoped they wouldn't have to find out. No matter what, Bella would still be hurt that they'd chosen her to die before they had even known about her illness. To be honest, Luka wasn't sure why Bella had been chosen instead of Elena. Elena would have been the easiest choice considering the fact that they had only been a state away from her and she was perfectly healthy. For some reason though, Elijah had decided that Bella was their best option but instead of relocating so they could be closer to her like they had done for Elena, Elijah had Jonas bring her across the country. The knowledge of her tumor hadn't even seemed to throw him, he'd just accepted that they would have to contact Klaus before she died and hadn't spoken of it again.

Luka watched as Elijah glanced over at Bella, just for a moment, before returning to his conversation. He wondered if maybe Elijah wasn't as ambivalent towards Bella as he'd originally thought.

Bella had sensed Elijah's gaze on her and forced herself to stay relaxed. He hadn't looked her way all that often since he'd come over but every time he had, she'd felt a shock run through her system and it had taken everything she'd had not to blush. After weeks of being poked and prodded, of having to answer embarrassing questions and accepting help to do even the simplest tasks on the days when her pain was almost too much to bear, she'd gotten over her habit of being embarrassed by the simplest things.

That hard-won ability seemed to go right out the window whenever Elijah even glanced at her though, and she despaired at the idea that she might start acting like Lauren or Jessica whenever she was near the handsome vampire. Even Edward's otherworldly beauty hadn't caused this kind of reaction in her- he may have dazzled her often but she'd managed to keep her wits together enough to have a conversation. When she felt Elijah's stare though, her thoughts became a mess and it was like her whole body was tingling and she honestly wasn't sure whether or not she was okay with that.

She wasn't stupid, knew that her reactions were a sign of her attraction to Elijah. Part of her was glad that she was moving on from Edward, despite the fact that she felt like she was just moving from one supernatural being to another, but another part of her was horrified that she felt anything other than disgust towards the man who had ordered her kidnapping. Her self-respect had taken quite a few blows in the past few months but had it really sunk that low?

As Bella glanced over at the tall Original and felt the increasingly familiar flare of heat, she realized that yes, yes it had.

 _At least he's still pretty aloof,_ she told herself, a cold sort of comfort. _As long as all this is is an appreciation of his good looks then I'm fine. Elijah can just be an attractive yet distant figure in this mess until I die. It's fine. Everything's fine._

Her attention was pulled back to the screen as she watched Angel stumble out of his apartment into the rain, falling to his knees as he screamed Buffy's name. Her heart clenched as she suddenly remembered what came next and she scrambled to find the remote, changing the channel as soon as her fingers wrapped around it.

"Something wrong?" Luka asked, confused as to what had caused the abrupt change of show.

"No," she said softly, pulling her knees up to her chest. "Just don't like what happened next."

"What happened? I've only seen a couple of episodes," he explained.

Bella struggled to find a non-revealing answer. "It's a sad ending," she finally settled on. "One of those things where everything is happy until it's over, then nothing is. And there's no way of going back to how it was before."

Luka didn't know how to respond to that.

* * *

"How is she faring?" Elijah asked Jonas, glancing into the living room at Isabella. She seemed to be doing well, though her current selection of entertainment was rather unusual.

"She's responding well to the amount of blood currently being put into her food and I have also been giving her certain herbs to help increase her body's overall health," Jonas started. "However, it is certain that, as the tumor grows, so will the amount of blood she will need to ingest. I told you that your blood was only going to slow the growth rate of the tumor; it's still growing and the larger it gets, the more will be needed. Is that something you are comfortable with?"

Elijah took a moment to consider the question. "Is she still currently unaware that my blood has been given to her?"

Jonas nodded. "She's also still unaware of all abilities the Original species of vampires have and what it would take to turn. I do have a plan for how to respond should she learn."

"Go on."

"I've been doing research into any previous instances where a human who had any illness similar to Bella's was turned. In every case, they weren't healed when they completed the transition. In fact, it seems most of them died soon after being fed the vampire blood in the first place. The cancerous cells just kept multiplying at a rapid pace, causing the human to die and the cancer just kept on growing after they became vampires."

"I see," Elijah responded, instantly understanding what he was being told. "The downside to increased cell reproduction."

"Exactly," Jonas' voice lowered even further as Luka entered the apartment and sat down next to Bella. "Many patients with brain tumors die of an aneurism. Should Bella become a vampire, the tumor will cause her to have aneurism over and over again until she truly crosses over. If Bella does find out about your blood, we can inform her of this in order to avoid having a repeat of Katherine."

"From what I have seen," Elijah began, forcing the thought of Isabella suffering from one of the more sadistic witches favorite trick and all the emotions that came with it from his head. "It is unlikely that this will become an issue with Miss Swan. Should she learn of anything, you will call me first and I will decide how to precede." His tone allowed no room for argument. Once Jonas had nodded in agreement, he continued. "Now, do you have what you need to perform the location spell for Miss Gilbert?"

"Yes," Jonas answered as he moved to sit down at the dining room table. "I was able to get what I needed from her room last night."

Elijah took the seat across from him, glancing down at the mirror, jewelry, hair, and picture frame laid out between them. "So, how exactly does this spell work?"

"Give me your hand," Jonas instructed. Elijah extended his hand, palm up, and Jonas picked up a silver knife and made a shallow cut. "Place your hand here," Jonas gestured towards a picture of Elena in a cheerleading uniform and Elijah placed his bloody palm down on top of it. "Now, take my hand."

Once he had a formed the connection between himself and the older vampire, Jonas called forth his magic and told Elijah, "Close your eyes. Relax your mind and focus on finding Elena."

As he felt the magic flow through him, Elijah focused on locating Elena. The sound of Isabella's laughter broke his concentration for a moment and an image of her flashed through his mind. He frowned, pulling his mind back to the task at hand. While Elena was not the doppelgänger he planned to use for the sacrifice, she was needed as a replacement should Isabella not survive till then.

He suddenly found himself standing in Slater's loft with Elena standing in front of him, staring out a window. Elijah took a few steps towards her, meeting her gaze in the window's reflection. She gasped and spun around, scanning the room for him. He smirked slightly at her confusion before pulling away, returning to his own body.

Jonas was watching him carefully and, once he saw Elijah's eyes open, he asked, "You saw her, didn't you?"

"I know exactly where she is." Elijah stood up from the table and went to retrieve his jacket from the living room. "I will return once I am finished. Should any troubles arise here while I am away…"

"I'll be sure to call you immediately." Jonas knew what Elijah was truly concerned about.

Elijah left the apartment without another word. "Everything okay?" Luka asked, turning to look at his father from the couch.

"Of course," Jonas reassured his son. "How was school?"

"Riveting," Luka responded sarcastically, giving a good-natured grin.

"You have any homework?"

"Just some math problems and a history worksheet I didn't get the chance to finish." Luka grabbed his backpack and pushed himself off the couch, moving to join his father at the table. Bella watched them, feeling a pang of nostalgia at their interactions. It reminded her of Charlie's awkward attempt to start a conversation with her once he'd arrived home from work.

She was abruptly returned to reality when she heard Jonas asking, "What's wrong?" Bella watched Jonas as he turned to stare at Luka with concern.

"Nothing," Luka told him, reaching up to touch his neck. He sat down at the table and pulled out his books, starting on his homework. Jonas watched him for a moment before finally turning away to collect the items he had been using for the spell and put them in a safe place. Bella turned back to her show, allowing herself to be pulled into the FBI's Behavior Analysis Unit's latest case.

Bella turned around at the sound of Luka's gasp to see him dropping his pencil, face scrunched up in pain.

Jonas put his hands on the table and leaned forward, making it impossible for Luka to avoid his gaze. "What's going on?"

Luka shifted in his seat. "It's Bonnie Bennet. She's channeling me."

"Why would you let her do that?" Jonas asked, his voice growing louder in his agitation.

"You told me to bond with her, so I bonded." Luka groaned in pain and Bella winced at the sound, recognizing it as one she had made herself numerous times in the past week. It wasn't until his nose started bleeding that she lurched to her feet.

"Oh, God," Jonas swore, racing over to his son's side as Luka fell out of his seat.

Luka was clutching his head in pain and Jonas knelt beside him, pulling his hands away and replacing them with his own. Bella moved over to Luka's other side and sat beside him, taking one of his hands. She didn't say anything, knowing from experience that there was really no help to be given when having a migraine that came on this suddenly. She didn't know for sure that was what was happening, the conversation they'd been having made it sound more supernatural, but she figured that calling it a migraine was close enough.

It wasn't until he started to convulse that Bella began to panic.

She turned to Jonas, wondering what she should do, but his attention was focused on Luka. He was muttering something in what she believed to be Latin and then suddenly, Luka's whole body relaxed. He blinked up at his father for a moment before noticing the hand gripping his and looked over at Bella. "I'm okay," he attempted to reassure her, taking in her wide eyes and pale face.

She nodded and was about to respond when she finally registered the blood on his face. Her stomach rolled, and she quickly let go of his hand and scooted away. "Ugh," Bella groaned, pulling her knees up to chest and resting her forehead on them.

"What's wrong?" Luka asked, attempting to sit up. Jonas quickly wrapped an arm around his shoulder to help him.

"You're bleeding," she told him, taking shallow breaths through her mouth.

"So?" he asked, but Jonas caught on.

"You have issues with the sight of blood?" Bella could understand why the thought seemed so ludicrous to him.

"More like the smell," she muttered. "It makes me sick."

It was silent for a beat and then, "The _smell_ of blood makes you sick?" The incredulity in Jonas' voice almost made Bella smile.

"Believe me, I am well aware of the irony."

Luka gave a tired chuckle. "Girl, you really had no chance, did you?"

Bella glanced up and caught sight of the look on Jonas' face. He was studying her intently, which wasn't all that unusual, but for the first time, he wasn't looking at her with suspicion.

Jonas turned to look back at his son. "You need to rest," he ordered, helping Luka to his feet. They slowly made their way to Luka's room, Bella trailing along hesitantly behind them.

After Luka was settled into bed, Jonas headed back to the kitchen to get him some water and painkillers. Once he was out of the room, Bella walked over to the bed and sat down on it, shifting so that her back was against the headboard and her legs were lying next to Luka.

"What're you doing?" he whispered, eyes squeezed shut.

"Seeing if something that helps me works for you," she murmured back, moving to cover his eyes with one of her hands. "I don't know why this works exactly but it's always helped me some when I get a migraine. I think it's having the light blocked out along with the warmth from the hand."

"It does feel nice," Luka agreed, and Bella could tell that he was going to fall asleep soon.

She sat there with him until she was sure he was asleep and then carefully pulled her hand away and got up, turning to see Jonas leaning up against the doorway watching them. He didn't look upset, but Bella couldn't help worrying that she had done something wrong. If whatever happened to Luka had been caused by magic, then maybe there was something else magical Jonas had been planning to do to make sure Luka was going to be okay but couldn't because she was in the way.

He walked out of the room and she followed, wondering if he was going to get upset with her again. They entered the kitchen and he gestured for her to sit down. "I'm sure you have some questions about what happened." He took the seat across from her and seemed to be waiting and willing to answer any questions she had, something that was so out of character from what she knew of him that it left Bella speechless for a moment.

"Will Luka be okay?" she finally blurted out.

Jonas stared at her for a moment, seemingly searching for something, before slowly relaxing back into his seat. "He'll be fine. There should be no lasting damage."

Bella gave a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. I was really worried for a moment there; now I know how my dad felt whenever he saw me like that."

He nodded. "No parent enjoys seeing their child in pain. Speaking of which, how is your head? I haven't seen anything to suggest that your headaches are coming back and you haven't mentioned anything either, but it's always best to check."

"Everything's fine," Bella shrugged. "I have been feeling pretty tired lately but other than that, things are good with me."

"Good," came Elijah's voice from behind Bella, and she spun around to see him at the apartment entrance. "Should that change, I expect you to inform someone immediately."

"For the love of god," she gasped, one hand moving up to cover her racing heart. "What happened to knocking?"

Elijah smiled slightly at her. "Since Jonas knew I would be arriving soon, I felt there was no need to announce myself. As you can see, he was not shocked by my entrance."

Bella turned back to see that Jonas looked as calm as ever. "Well, then," she snarked. "Here's an update on my health: you have scared about 10 hours off my life. I hope you're happy."

The two men stared at her in shock for a moment before Elijah's eyes lit up and he gave her an honest smirk, one actually conveying his amusement. "Delighted, actually."

Bella could feel her face turning red and she hurriedly stood. "I'll just leave you two to talk," she muttered, almost running from the room.

"It seems her time with you and young Luka has brought Miss Swan out of her shell," Elijah commented, eyes locked on the space where she last stood.

"Luka seems to be fond of her as well," Jonas murmured.

Elijah turned to look at him. "Should I be concerned?" he asked evenly, though Jonas thought he could see a glint of… something in his eyes.

Jonas shook his head. "No, they're just friendly."

He just nodded. "Your shadow spell was successful," Elijah told him, turning the conversation back to what he had originally came there for. "I was able to track the girl. However, I did have a little run in with one of the brothers that killed me."

"I assume he didn't live to tell about it?" Jonas asked, tone dry.

"Actually," Elijah corrected. "I spared him. He'd die before he'd let anything happen to her- they both would. She'll be kept safe."

Jonas realized that it wasn't his place to ask, but he had to know. "Why are you focusing your attention on the Gilbert girl? We already have a doppelgänger; why bring Bella all the way to Mystic Falls just so that you can keep an eye on Elena?"

"That is none of your concern," Elijah responded, his tone making it clear he would not tolerate any more questions on the subject.

"No," Jonas agreed. "But I'm sure you've realized that things might get out of hand should the two girls find out about one another. Bella, at least, will have questions. I can't help but think that she'll be much less cooperative should she find out that there is more than one person who could be used in the sacrifice and that you chose her before you knew that she dying."

"Then I suggest you make sure that she doesn't find out."

 **(A/N): Welcome back everyone! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story- your praise and loving of it really helped feed my muse! I'm FINALLY settling into Japan and have been staying on a good writing schedule; I've been so good about it that the barista's at the coffee shop I go to know who I am and what my order is (sheepish laughter).**

 **Much love to my beta Hannbells, who always takes the time out of her very busy schedule to read over my chapters and provide feedback! I couldn't have do it without her, and your, support.**

 **Until next time! Please leave a review on your way out!**


	5. Chapter 5

Luka was given strict orders to take the next day off from school, not that he put up much of a fight, so he spent his free time lazing around the apartment with Bella. It was still surprising to him how easy going she seemed to be about the situation. He had repeatedly told his father that she wasn't going to try and escape, which he still fully believed, but she didn't even try to go outside; Bella seemed perfectly happy to stay inside all day watching TV.

"Aren't you going stir-crazy being cooped up in here?" Luka asked her while they were eating lunch.

Bella raised an eyebrow. "Not really. Wasn't like I was living it up back in Forks; the only time I went out was to go to the doctor's."

"Still though. I don't think I could stand to be stuck in here for long before I tried to break out."

She laughed. "Hey, I'm not risking the wrath of your dad and Mr. Original just for some fresh air. I enjoy being allowed into the living room, thank you very much."

He shook his head in mock sadness. "How disappointing. I never would have guessed that the girl who ran with vampires would turn out to be such a coward."

"First of all, I ran with Cold Ones. There is a difference. Secondly, that didn't exactly end well for me and I don't see me messing with a different type of vampire ending any better. I'm already going to make my exit memorably, why do I need to make the days leading up to it any more notable? Especially considering the fact that I still have no idea where we are."

"Don't you have a bucket list?" he asked. "Things you want to do before you die? We're in Virginia, by the way."

"Huh." She blinked. "Would not have expected that," Bella muttered before shrugging. "Nothing that can be accomplished in the few weeks I have left. I don't see the point in focusing on all the things I wanted to do but won't be able to do so now I'm just going to work towards finishing all the shows on my Netflix list."

Luka smiled sadly. "Guess that's as good a goal as any. What's next on your list?"

"Some show called 'Bitten'. It's apparently Canadian."

He frowned. "I've never heard of it. What's it about?"

"Werewolves." Luka gaped at her and she laughed. "What can I say, figured I'd switch it up."

"You do know that werewolves are real, right?"

Bella's jaw dropped. "Seriously?!"

"Yeah," he told her with a laugh. "They're as real as vampires are. All the stories about them are true too: they change at the full moon, a bite from them will either turn or kill you, and they are the mortal enemies of vampires."

She couldn't help laughing. Bella was almost bent over in her amusement at the supernatural creature crash-course she was receiving. Actual vampires, witches, and werewolves all in the span of a single week. The passing thought of why all supernatural creatures seemed to have names that started with letters at the end of the alphabet caused her to fall off the couch.

Luka was still laughing at her when they heard a knock at the door.

"Crap!" Bella swore, popping up off the floor. "What do we do?"

"I don't know!" Luka panicked alongside her. "I wasn't given instructions for this!"

Bella stared at him, incredulously. "You guys never planned for what you do if someone gave over? Do you people not have friends or something?"

"Look who's talking!"

"Yeah, well, we've already established there's something wrong with me. What's your excuse?"

There was another knock at the door and then a girl's voice was softly calling, "Luka?"

Bella couldn't resist waggling her eyebrows at him before racing over to the kitchen to grab a book before going to hide in her bedroom. She slumped down against the door, listening intently at the conversation happening in the next room.

"I don't know what makes me more upset," Luka was saying. "That I showed you how to channel or that you almost killed me."

Her eyes widened. So, this must the Bonnie that Jonas was talking about the night before when Luka was in trouble.

"Luka, I'm so sorry," Bonnie said, not sounding nearly remorseful enough to Bella. "I wouldn't have done what I did unless it was really important. It's just that there are things that I-"

"I forgive you," Luka interrupted.

Even though Bella knew that this had to be part of whatever plan the guys currently had in play, she still wished that Luka would have been harsher towards Bonnie. She really liked him, he had been nothing but nice to her since she'd gotten there, and it had really scared her when he'd collapsed.

Bella pushed away from the door when they started talking about Jonas' collection of grimoires. She'd been fascinated by them but Jonas had made it clear she was not to touch them and Bella didn't want to risk testing how serious he was about that.

She sat down in the chair next to the window, leaning her head back and closing her eyes as she basked in the afternoon sun. Sunshine had been the thing Bella had missed most while in Forks and she was desperately trying to make up for lost time. Before she knew it, the rays of warmth soaking into her skin caused her to drift off.

* * *

The sun had just started to set when Bella woke up again. She stared around the room in groggy confusion for a moment, remembering falling asleep by the window but unsure as to how she had gotten to her bed.

Slowly pushing herself upright, Bella forced herself to stand up. Unfortunately, her knees did not seem to agree with her decision and immediately buckled. Letting out a strangled yelp, Bella closed her eyes and braced herself.

The door clicked open and Bella was suddenly being held up against a warm body. She inhaled sharply a faint woodsy, earthy scent invaded her senses. Unable to resist, she took a deep breath, almost as though she was trying to catch hold of the cologne being worn by… Bella looked up into the amused eyes of an Original Vampire.

"Ah crap," she said automatically, flushing a deep red once her brain had finally caught up with her.

Elijah smirked at her and Bella was struck again by how handsome he was. It really wasn't fair. "Are you alright?" he asked her once he'd helped her sit back down on the edge of her bed.

"I'm fine," Bella muttered, staring down at her socks. "Just got dizzy for a moment, that's all."

She could feel him studying her and Bella slowly, reluctantly, glanced up at him. His previous smirk was gone, replaced by what she could almost convince herself was concern. "When did you last eat?"

"I had lunch with Luka," she told him. "I have been sleeping awhile though; I should probably eat something."

"It's nearly 7'o'clock," he informed her. "You have been napping for quite some time."

"Speaking of which," Bella interrupted. "Do you know who moved me from the chair to the bed? Because I certainly didn't get there on my own- I sleep talk, not sleepwalk."

"I did," he informed her calmly. "I thought that the bed would be more comfortable for you than the chair."

Bella bit her lip, desperately fighting back her embarrassment. "I see. Thanks, I guess." She was relieved that her voice was steady as she spoke.

"Do try and contain your gratitude," he teased, feeling oddly at ease now that Isabella was awake. He helped her stand before offering his arm, which she looked at hesitantly for a moment before carefully taking.

She was uncomfortable with the idea of getting too close to the handsome Original vampire but she was smart enough to know that she wouldn't be able to get to the kitchen without help.

"So," Bella finally asked, desperate to break the silence. "What have you been up to today?"

That was apparently the wrong question; she could almost feel him shutting down beside her. "Nothing of import."

 _Dear god why?_ "I guess I could say the same. Luka stayed home today and hung out with me for a bit before I decided to nap away the day."

"Yes, Jonas said that the Miss Bennet came by to see Luka today."

Elijah's easy response made Bella relax a bit. "Yeah, I think she wanted his help with a spell or something; they had been talking about the grimoires."

"You know, Miss Swan, most people would consider it rude to eavesdrop on another's conversation." He smirked at her and it took all her focus to keep herself from stumbling again.

"Most people also consider it rude to not call someone by their name when they've been repeatedly asked yet you still don't," she retorted, desperately trying to remain calm. She'd been hoping Jonas would be in the kitchen but he was nowhere in sight as Elijah helped her get settled at the table. Luka was also absent and she squirmed at the knowledge that she and Elijah were truly alone for the first time.

He gave her one of his rare, true smiles. "I shall endeavor to do better in the future then, Isabella."

Bella shuddered. _This was a mistake_ , she quickly realized. Hearing her full name wrapped in his smooth accent was not helping her with her resolve to keep her distance at all. She rested her forehead on the table with a silent groan, praying that this would be over before she made an absolute fool of herself.

Elijah was kind enough to give her a few minutes to herself, having been able to hear and smell her reaction to him. He was also surprised at her response to him, considering the circumstances, but he was gentlemanly enough to allow her to believe that he was unaware. All of the children in the Mikaelson family were attractive, a fact that he had been made abundantly aware of after they were turned, but he had not let that knowledge affect him as much as it did his siblings. It was useful when he needed something, but otherwise unimportant to his daily life. For some reason though, the idea that Isabella was attracted to him was a pleasing one.

After he finished preparing the meal Jonas had made for her earlier, secretly adding some blood to the steaming bowl of baked potato soup, Elijah set the bowl in front of her. Bella sat up straight and began to slowly eat, doing her absolute best to not meet the eyes that were intently focused on her. Halfway through the meal she started to feel significantly better and she decided to take a chance and asked, "So, what have you guys been adding to these meals? Some sort of witchy potion, I assume?" Elijah's eyes widened slightly in shock and Bella couldn't help the victorious grin she gave him. "I can always tell that somethings been done to the food because I start to feel almost normal while eating," she explained.

Elijah gave a low hum of understanding that sent shivers down her spine before saying, "Yes, I can see how such a thing would inform you of what we were doing, but you will forgive me if I refrain from explaining everything to you."

Bella was disappointed, but she understood. "Fine. It's not like I'm complaining or anything- I'll take voodoo over agonizing pain any day."

"A very healthy take on things," he teased.

"Seems I'm not as crazy as I thought," she joked.

He tilted his head slightly as he considered her. "I can imagine that you had reason for doubting your own sanity from the way you spoke of when you first arrived to Forks, but it sounds as though you were concerned more recently than that."

She sighed. "After the Cullen's left, it was like I was in some sort of fog. I could see what was happening around me, could see how worried everyone was about me, but I couldn't say or do anything- it was like I was trapped in my own body. I thought I was losing my mind. It wasn't until I collapsed for the first time that I was finally able to… take control again? I don't know, I don't know the right way to describe it."

Elijah frowned as she spoke, brow furrowed in thought. The way she described her reaction to the Cullen's leaving was extreme, even considering the drugging effect Cold One's could have on people. It was almost as though she had been possessed by something, or someone; as if someone else was literally in charge of her movements. Was that possible? He knew of witches who were able to inhabit the body of others, Niklaus had even found a spell that his witches used to place him in another body when need be, but the block on Isabella's mind should have made such a thing impossible. He had tried to compel her previously without her knowing and hadn't been able to do so, proving her mind would truly only ever be her own. And fainting would not have been enough to drive them out even if someone had been able to take her over.

"What is it?" Bella asked, concerned by his dark look.

Pulling himself away from his musings, Elijah gave a her that same blank smile he had worn frequently when they first met. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with."

"Alright then," she frowned, annoyed despite her best efforts. It seemed that no matter what she said or did, Elijah would always pull away from the conversation before she could get any questions answered. "Can I ask what my timeline here is or is that also something I don't need to bother asking about?"

Bella instantly regretted her tone but, to her surprise, Elijah didn't seem annoyed with her but rather amused. "Unfortunately, I cannot give you any certainties. Certain things will need to be figured out before Niklaus is summoned."

"His name is Niklaus?" Bella repeated. "I thought it was Klaus."

"His full name is Niklaus."

"That is… how old are you guys?"

Elijah smirked, knowing her reaction to his answer would be entertaining at least. "My siblings and I are over a thousand years old."

She did not disappoint. "A thousand years old?" She stared at him with wide eyes. "You're over a thousand years old? _One thousand?_ As in, you were born in the year 1000? You've just been traipsing around the world for a thousand years as a vampire?" Her voice rose with every word. "You have got to be kidding me! And that's for all your siblings? Your entire family is a thousand years old. How have you not just killed yourself by now out of sheer boredom? Like dear god. What is this? Here I am, just chilling at the dinner table with a guy who was alive for things like the fall of Constantinople and the Knights Templar and all these awesome moments in history and here you are just chilling in a suit in Virginia with some random human girl."

"I did tell you that I was one of the original vampires," he responded placidly.

Bella's jaw dropped. "I… I guess that slipped my mind since you're… you don't seem… Crap, I don't know."

He had been right, Isabella's response was enjoyable to say the least.

"But then, you guys aren't the original species of vampires," she pointed out, frowning. "There are Cold Ones who are way older than a thousand years."

"That is true," Elijah conceded. "However, the spell that was used to turn my family into vampires was based off one created in Ancient Greece, where the first vampires were created. The spell that progenerated the Cold Ones was done afterwards in a flawed attempt to recreate and improve upon the previous spell."

"Then wouldn't they be the Original Vampires, not you guys?"

"Technically, they were the first immortals, not the first vampires. The witch who changed us was unable to recover the exact spell and had to change several aspects of it. However, that spell was far closer to the original one than the one used for the Cold Ones."

"What are the differences between your kind of vampire and Cold Ones?" Bella asked, something she had been curious about since they'd first met. "Besides the fact that you don't sparkle in sunlight and the whole game-face deal."

"Game-face deal?" Elijah echoed, beyond amused.

Bella blushed. "Well, what do you call it? Figured game-face sounded better than saying you get all vamped-out."

For the first time since they met, Elijah actually laughed and Bella was entranced by the sound of it. It was deep and genuine and she was _so screwed._

"Game-face it is then," he finally said, still chuckling. "As for the differences between us, the main two are our strength and lack of venom. While Cold Ones are at their strongest when they are first turned, Original Vampires grow stronger as we get older, meaning that we are at our weakest when we are first turned. In regards to feeding, we are not venomous so if we feed from a human, they do not necessarily have to die as long as certain precautions are put in place."

"Then-" Bella started before cutting herself off. She wanted to know how they turned people without venom but figured that question would definitely not be appreciated. "How many siblings do you have? I know you have the one brother but how many of you are there?"

The warm amusement that had been lighting up Elijah's eyes disappeared. "I had one sister and four brothers."

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Elijah gave her a small smile that was somewhere in between his previous warmth and his normal cold one. "It's alright, you had no idea after all."

"So," Bella started, desperate trying to change the subject. "Where were you born?" She winced, realizing that this line of questioning probably wasn't going to be all that helpful at distracting the man from his family. She was so bad at this.

"I was raised here, in Virginia," he answered, curious to see if she noticed that he did not technically answer her question.

Her brows furrowed in thought, Bella sat there for a moment before her forehead smoothed and she smiled at him. "So, you guys were Vikings?" She was almost bouncing in her seat in excitement. "Or, were Vikings, I guess."

His eyes widened in suprise. "Yes, we were, though I am surprised at your ability to puzzle that out so quickly."

"It was the only logical answer," Bella told him with a shrug. "You obviously aren't Native American and they were the only ones here a thousand years ago, except for the Vikings who found America and settled here for a bit before going back to Scandinavia. So, that made Viking's the obvious answer. I could totally picture you as a Viking." Bella forced herself to stop talking.

This was the most that Bella had seen Elijah smile and she could help reveling in it. "Impressive. You are the only person who has ever been able to figure that out without being told; most seem to believe that we are English, though my sister certainly had the stereotypical Scandavian beauty."

The intent look Isabella gave him then forced Elijah to repress the shiver wanting to make its way down his spine. "I suppose I could see why most people would think that," she finally said. "Though, your accent doesn't really sound British- though no one who's human would know what a Viking accent sounded like. Plus, I'm sure your accent has had to change over the years since you'd have to move around a lot."

"We did." Before he could continue, Jonas came through the front door.

"Elijah," he said, nodding in greeting before spotting the empty bowl in front of Bella. "Good, you've eaten. Luka texted me that you were still asleep when he left."

Bella nodded. "Where is Luka? Is he out with Bonnie?"

Both men seemed amused by the distaste in her voice. "You don't like Bonnie?" Jonas asked.

She scoffed. "You can't say you feel any differently; she almost killed Luka!"

"It was an accident," Jonas pointed out. "She didn't know what she was doing and Luka should have explained it better to her. It's not her fault she was left untrained."

Blinking at him for a moment, Bella asked, "Is this some kind of bullshit devil's advocate argument? Because this may not be the time for such a thing."

Jonas actually chuckled at her language. "It's not, though that's not to say I'm Bonnie's biggest fan. She does have her uses though."

"So do bats, but that doesn't mean that I'm ever going to think they're something other than rats with wings."

Elijah cleared his throat, standing up and turning back towards the kitchen in order to hide his smirk. "Now that Jonas is here, I will be taking my leave."

"Alright," Bella said, slightly disappointed but relieved that she wouldn't embarrass herself anymore that night. Jonas just shrugged off his jacket and grabbed a book before settling into an armchair. He knew where Elijah was going and silently wondered how Elijah would deal with facing Katherine again. Knowing how the Original Vampire would react should he actually say anything though, Jonas kept his thoughts to himself.

With a final smile for Bella and a warning look to Jonas, Elijah left the apartment.

After taking her dishes into the kitchen, Bella went to sit on the couch and slowly worked up her courage to actually speak with Jonas. "Umm…" she started, before instantly trailing off and wishing she had kept her mouth shut.

Jonas looked up at her. "Yes?"

"I was just wondering about your grimoires…"

His gaze instantly turned stern. "What about them?"

Bella began to fidget in her seat. "Well, when Luka and Bonnie were here earlier they seemed to be searching for a spell and they had to go through what looks to be about 10 books to find it and I guess I was wondering if there was like a catalogue or something of what spells are in each book."

He was clearly thrown by her question. "I… No, there isn't. I suppose we just haven't had the time to create something like that. Most common spells are repeated several times so any spell book can be used and we usually just bookmark specific spells that we believe might be useful so we can come back to them later. Is there something you were looking for?" His tone had turned suspicious again.

"No," Bella shrugged. "I was just wondering. Though, I figured if you had made one then you wouldn't have let Bonnie paw at all your books."

Jonas studied Bella for a moment longer. Elijah had instructed him to find things for Bella to do while she was there in order to keep her distracted. While she seemed to have accepted and even embraced how things were going to end for her, Elijah had been concerned that she might fall into a depression and end up doing something stupid. This was most likely not what he had in mind but it would do. "You took almost three years of Latin in Phoenix along with your Spanish classes, correct? How confident are you in your ability to understand it?"

She stared at him in confusion. "Uh, pretty confident. I thought it would be useful when I took the SAT."

"Most of the spells are in Latin so you would need to know the language in order to categorize the spell," he told her. "Since you have so much free time on your hands at the moment, why don't you work at creating a catalogue for us?"

"Seriously?" she asked him in shock.

"Provided that you follow the instructions I will give you then I have no problem with you handling our books."

It was a sign of how bored Bella was becoming that she actually excited for such a chance. "Whatever you want."

* * *

Jonas was still sitting in the living room when Luka arrived home. "You were successful?" he asked, barely looking up from his book.

"Of course I was," Luka answered, seeming slightly subdued. "She fell for the whole show and didn't suspect a thing." Pulling the moonstone out of his pocket, he placed in on the desk near his father. "Where's Bella?"

"Asleep. The blood is still helping with the worst of her symptoms but she still becomes exhausted easily." Luka and nodded and turned to head back to the bedrooms to check on her.

"Wait," Jonas stopped him. "There's one more thing Elijah needs us to do before we lose the full moon."

Luka sighed but nodded, guessing just what it was Elijah had asked of them. "At least I got a day of rest in, otherwise I'd probably die doing this spell after Bonnie draining me yesterday."

"I'd probably be more upset with her for that if Bella hadn't seemed to take up that mantle," his father commented, grabbing his coat.

"Yeah, it's weird how she easily she gets indignant on my behalf but can't be bothered for herself."

"It's easier to protest for others than it is for yourself," Jonas told him. "From what she's told us about her life, and from what I've pieced together with my own research, she's someone who always put others ahead of herself."

"Too bad that generosity didn't help her out any in the end," he said, feeling bitter. The whole situation was shit in Luka's opinion- he hated feeling completely helpless. Even if Elijah could be persuaded to use Elena as bait, it wouldn't keep Bella alive. Like he'd told her before, she had shit luck.

"I wouldn't be too sure of that," was all Jonas said, thinking of the research he had been doing on his own time. He wanted to be prepared for anything and, if things went the way he thought they would, then things would be taking an unexpected turn soon enough.

 **(A/N): Yeah. I don't know how this is happening either.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! And to the reviewers who are fearing whether this is HEA or not: at first, I was just going to say nothing in order to keep you hooked. Then, I read another story where, in addition to having terrible writing, the girl dies unexpectedly in the end and I realized I was being a moron. So, I am here to say that... yes, this will be a HEA. I'm mean to my characters, but not that mean. That does not mean that it will be easy getting there. I believe in another A/N I said that my goal was to make you all cry and I 100% meant that. I've cried working on this story- so should you!**

 **This chapter is unbetaed because Hannbells is going through some rough times so I didn't want to bother her. Which means that when I go to visit her next week she may kill me out of hurt/annoyance so everyone think happy thoughts!**

 **Any familiar dialogue comes from season 2 episode 11 "By the Light of the Moon", not me.**

 **Until next time, darlings! Please leave a review on the way out!**


	6. Chapter 6

"Good morning, Isabella," Elijah greeted when he stopped by the a few days later.

"Morning," Bella returned, not even really registering that he was there since she was so focused on the spell book in front of her. Once she understood what the spell she was looking at was for, she typed the name, book it was found in, and page number into the small laptop Jonas had provided her. She looked up at Elijah once she was done, flushing at the gentle smile he wore as he watched her. "Sorry about that," she said, shifting awkwardly. "It's been awhile since I've read something in Latin and I didn't want to lose my train of thought."

He waved away her apology. "It's quite alright. Are you having trouble understanding any of the spells?"

"No, but some of these are weird. Does your kind of vampire still have a functioning body?" she asked. "Like, does your hair and nails still grow and you have similar bodily functions as you did when you were alive?"

Elijah seemed slightly bemused at her non sequitur. "Yes, though at a slower rate. We can also still eat and drink whatever we like without it harming us."

"Huh," Bella muttered, glancing at one of the spells she had already added. "Guess it would work then. Super weird though."

He waited a moment to see if she'd explain before asking, "What spell are you are referring to?"

Bella started. "Oh, right. Sorry. Just, there was this spell about how to magically remove a fetus from one body to another and there was a note that it should even work for a vampire- that you could place the fetus in a female vampire. Since Cold Ones are frozen in the state they were in when turned, except for having any injuries fixed of course, I was wondering if it was different for your kind. I mean, obviously your face changes when you feed, but I didn't know if the rest of the body would be able to change enough to carry a child to term."

Frowning, Elijah commented, "I have never heard of such a spell so I cannot say for certain whether it would work or not, though I wonder what kind of changes would occur for the infant should they be carried to term in a non-human body."

"It doesn't mention anything," Bella told him with a shrug. "But the book it came from seems to have belonged to a witch that was part of a coven. It sounds like it would take a lot of magic for it to be done and was only used by them in an emergency. I don't think they placed any children in vampires though, I think the witch was just theorizing about that."

"Still, it's a very interesting premise."

"I was going to go with freaky but sure, interesting works."

"How far along are you?" Elijah asked as he sat down next to her.

"Not as far along as I would like," Bella sighed. "There's just so many books and while some of them have had the English name and description written down along with the actual spell, most don't and translating it has been kind of a pain."

"And how have you been feeling? I am aware that you are growing tired more easily but has the pain returned?"

She shook her head. "No, seems whatever you guys are using is still holding back most of my symptoms." She flashed him a small smile. "I've been keeping an eye out any likely possibilities on what it is you're using but haven't found anything yet."

He smiled back at her. "Do let me know if you managed to."

Bella laughed as she stretched her arms over her head, not noticing how intently Elijah stared as she moved. "I'll be sure to do that." She rested her elbows on the table and her chin on one hand. "So, what have you guys been up to? Jonas seemed pretty exhausted when he got back last night; I think he's still asleep, actually."

"Taking care of a small problem," he vaguely answered, waving away her concerns. "It's been handled though."

"I hope so," was all she said. "Luka went out a bit ago if you were here to speak with him."

"Actually, Isabella, I am here to talk to you."

"Why?" Bella asked, genuinely bewildered.

Elijah actually laughed slightly at her confusion. "I wanted to see how you were doing and ask if there was anything you needed."

"Oh." She blinked at him. "Uh, I think I'm good? It's been nice having something to do while I'm here and Jonas and Luka have even been checking out books from the library for me." Bella pulled away from the table slightly and slid her hands into her lap, fingers fidgeting as she spoke. "It's stupid, but I want to try and finish my schooling on my own if I can. My high school decided that they would only grant me an honorary diploma once they heard I was sick since I couldn't, you know, go to school, despite the fact that I had enough credits from my classes in Phoenix to graduate. If Forks allowed it, I would have been able to graduate last spring but apparently they won't allow students to graduate early for any reason," she grumbled before shaking her head slightly and forcing herself back on topic. "Anyway, I've been studying on my own and Jonas promised to try and get the tests for me to take to get my GED before…" she trailed off.

"That's very admirable of you," he told her gently.

Bella just shrugged. "I think most people would say it's pointless."

"What most people think isn't important," came Jonas' voice as he entered the room. "As Luka likes to say, 'you do you'."

She giggled at the sound of something so young coming from the older warlock. "Well, if Luka said it, then it must be sound advice."

Jonas smiled faintly at her over his shoulder as he made himself a cup of coffee. He had slowly warmed up to her over the past few days as he came to the same realization as his son: Bella had no intentions of trying to escape or thwart their plans in any way. She didn't even seem to care what they were up to most of the time, just focused on either working or marathoning shows as she pleased. "Why don't you take a break while I make some food?" Jonas offered. He guessed that Elijah had something to say to him and knew the Original vampire wouldn't speak freely in front of Bella.

"Banishing me from the kitchen?" Bella joked, not offended. "I see how it is." She stood and walked over to the couch, grabbing the remote and finding the episode she had stopped at the day before. It occurred to her that Jonas might have been able to tell how tired she was currently feeling, despite the fact that she had managed to fool Elijah.

"I take it you were successful?" Elijah murmured once Bella's show began to play.

Jonas nodded. "Most of the werewolves are dead; I left a few alive so that there would be one nearby for the ritual."

"Good. And Isabella?"

The warlock sighed. "She's becoming tired easily and she started to have a migraine yesterday. Luckily Luka was with her and able to ease her pain but I believe we'll need to up her blood dosage soon."

Elijah didn't seem concerned. "We expected that to be necessary." He pulled several vials of blood out of his pocket and passed them to Jonas, who hurriedly hid them in corner of the fridge that contained a small lock box to keep it hidden from their guest. "Slowly increase the amount you give her until you find the correct ratio," he instructed. "I will be spending the rest of the day at the Mayor's home so if I am needed, do not hesitate to call."

"Of course."

The vampire turned to leave, only pausing to say goodbye to Isabella and let her know he would see her tomorrow. The sleepy smile she gave him in return caused the last bit of coldness in his gaze to melt away and the warm look he gave her made her turn bright red before she rolled back over away from him. Elijah chuckled quietly before slipping out the door.

* * *

After Bella ate the lunch Jonas made for her, she spent the rest of the afternoon napping on the couch while Jonas worked at the table and kept an eye on her. While she didn't seem to be in any pain, she wasn't doing as well as she had been when they first fed her Elijah's blood and he was going to have to start giving her a larger amount the following day. His primary concern at that moment though was for Luka.

Jonas had tried to call his son several times without success and he was starting to worry. He knew that Luka had planned on going to the Grill for a bit in the hopes of running into Bonnie before picking up more books for Bella but he should have been home much earlier- or at the very least have answered his phone.

"What's wrong?" Bella asked blearily, slowly sitting up.

"You're up," Jonas deflected. "Are you ready for dinner?"

"That's a matter of opinion," she grumbled. "For all you know I could just be sleep talking."

"Ah, yes. Your sleep talking. Did you speak to Elijah about your request earlier?"

"No," she muttered, sheepishly. "I was distracted by the spell translation and when I finally remembered he was getting ready to leave."

Sighing, Jonas told her, "I understand why you would want a sound-proof barrier placed around your room but I can't do it until Elijah agrees."

"I understand. I'll ask him next time he comes over."

"Hmm." Jonas didn't really believe she would but he wouldn't press it.

"Where's Luka?" Bella asked, forcing herself to stand up before she slumped over and went back to sleep.

"Still out."

Bella frowned and checked what time it was on a nearby clock. "But it's almost seven; Luka told me he'd be back by six so that we would have enough time to work on his physics homework."

Jonas stiffened. "He told you he'd be home by six? Or did he say he'd try to be home by then?"

"He guaranteed it. I usually fall sleep by nine so I told him he'd need to make sure to give us enough time to eat dinner and work before I passed out."

"Damnit," he swore. Jonas stood up and went to grab his coat before racing out but hesitated. Bella wasn't to be left alone if at all possible, especially when she didn't have enough vampire blood in her system to be able to function properly.

"Somethings wrong, isn't it? Luka's in trouble." His face told her everything she needed to know. "Go," she ordered. "I'll be fine, you need to find Luka."

"Elijah-"

"I'll handle Elijah, you need to find Luka. Something's wrong, we both know it."

Groaning, Jonas instructed, "If I'm not back in an hour, call Elijah. And do not hesitate to call him the moment you start feeling ill, we had to change the dosage of the medicine we're giving you and should you become as ill as you were when you first arrived, you will die no matter what we do," he warned. "Do you understand?"

Bella had paled slightly at his words before nodding. "Yeah, I get it. Now go."

He needed no further encouragement, tossing her his cell phone before grabbing his things and racing out the door for the Grill.

Staring anxiously at the clock, Bella watched as the deadline Jonas had imposed ticked ever closer. She really didn't want to call Elijah if she didn't have to, she knew he would be furious with the Martin's for leaving her alone and she didn't want them to get into trouble. However, she had promised Jonas so once the clock hit eight, Bella grabbed the phone and pulled up Elijah's contact information.

"What is it?" Elijah had picked up after the first ring and Bella felt thrown slightly, though she didn't know why.

"Um, hey, it's Bella," she awkwardly greeted.

"Isabella," he breathed. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she told him, picking at her jeans and desperately trying to find a way to buy time. "I just… there was something I wanted to ask you earlier but I didn't because I forgot at first but then I didn't want to because I didn't… I didn't want…" she struggled to finish her thought.

"Isabella," he interrupted gently. "You can ask me anything. I told you I would do my best to provide you with whatever you desired while in my care."

Bella sighed. "It's stupid. It's just, I talk in my sleep. I don't know if Luka or Jonas have mentioned anything but the past few nights I've been having night terrors and I keep waking them up because I've kind of, you know, been screaming in my sleep and I was hoping that it would be okay for Jonas to put up a sound-proof barrier around my room."

Elijah was silent for a moment. "What have you been dreaming of?"

Shifting uncomfortably, Bella answered, "Different things? At first it was being lost in the forest behind my house in Forks, which was a common nightmare for a while there, but it's changed in the last few days. Now I'm just dreaming of dying in these different, horrible ways. One night I dreamed that I was shot through the chest by a jealous suitor, though I'm really not sure how I knew that's what he was. Last night I was attacked by wolves- that was the worst one yet."

"Wolves," he echoed. "And in every dream, you experience a different death?"

She nodded, somehow knowing he would be able to sense it over the phone. "I'm scared," Bella confessed. "I know it's probably just in response to knowing that I'm actually going to die soon but I hate closing my eyes at night. And it only happens at night, never during the day when I'm napping. I hate that I'm worrying Jonas and Luka but I can't control it and I can't stop myself from screaming because it feels so real."

"And you want to have Jonas to place a barrier around your room so as to not disturb them?"

"Please?"

He sighed. "If your dreams are becoming such a strong issue, I would prefer that either Jonas or Luka be able to help you wake up when needed."

Bella frowned. "You're worried, aren't you?" she inferred. "Is it about the dreams? Some sort of weird, doppelgänger thing?"

"I'm not sure," he said, tone distant. "We'll discuss this more once I return; I should be there in 10 minutes."

"Uh-" He hung up before she could respond. "Crap." She was supposed to be buying time till Jonas and Luka came back, not inviting Elijah over so he could see their supposed negligence for himself.

Five minutes later, Bella was pacing back and forth in the living room, every little noise making her look towards the door in hope before scowling and staring back at the floor. She'd tried calling Luka repeatedly but he hadn't answered and she was starting to full-on panic. Finally, she heard the key turn in the lock and she raced to the door, throwing it open to see Jonas and Luka. Jonas had an arm around his son, who was barely awake, and was supporting most of his weight. Bella immediately moved to the side so they could come inside. "What happened?"

"I have no idea," Jonas said shortly, temper barely leashed. "I think he was drugged with something but he still can't tell me who it was or what happened."

"Crap." Bella raced ahead of them and opened the door to Luka's room. "Elijah's on his way."

Jonas sighed in frustration. "You called him?" He knew that she had only done so because he had instructed her to but the last thing Jonas needed was an enraged Elijah breathing down his neck.

"I did, but I didn't tell him what was going on. I just said I was calling to ask about you putting the barrier up around my room and I guess he wanted to talk about it in person."

"So, he doesn't know what's going on?"

"Nope, and I, at least, would prefer he doesn't because I'm pretty comfortable with staying right where I'm at."

Sighing in relief, Jonas helped his son into his bed. "Thank you, Bella."

Bella wasn't sure if he was thankful for her help or because she wasn't going to rat them out to the Original vampire but she just shrugged and said, "No problem."

Leaving Jonas to get Luka settled, Bella headed back into the living room and quickly shut and locked the still-open front door, beyond thankful that Elijah hadn't appeared yet. Sinking down onto the couch, Bella rested her head in her hands. She was feeling a little dizzy but she just chalked it up to not sleeping well the past few nights.

"Are you alright?" Elijah asked.

Bella shrieked and Jonas came running out of Luka's room at the sound, stopping short at the sight of Elijah. "How did you get in here?" Bella demanded.

Elijah raised an eyebrow but didn't answer. "Are you alright?" he repeated.

"I was until you showed up here and scared the living crap out of me," Bella snapped. "What happened to knocking and waiting for someone to open the door like a gentleman? You vampires, just breaking in whenever you want and creepily watching people," she ranted. "You don't see me spying on people, do you? No, you don't, because I understand boundaries!"

Jonas glanced at Elijah, wary of his reaction to Bella's words, but was surprised to hear the vampire chuckling. "I was given a key so that I could come and go as needed."

"Yeah, well, beware misusing your key privileges," Bella warned, head spinning. "You wouldn't…" she trailed off and the small smile instantly vanished off Elijah's lips. Her eyes rolled back and she fell sideways onto the couch.

"Damnit!" Jonas swore as Elijah instantly appeared beside Bella, checking her pulse.

"Her pulse is steady and her breathing is even," Elijah told him calmly.

"But?" Jonas prompted, concerned by the flash of worry he'd seen in the other man's eyes before they became shuttered once again.

"This is different from the previous times she's fainted. Has she mentioned her nightmares to you?"

Nodding, Jonas said, "Some nights she seems to manage to wake herself up before her screams can reach us but not every time; she won't say what she's dreaming of though. I just assumed it had something to do with the Cold One's. You think it's something else? Something that's causing this?"

"When she previously fainted, her pulse was thready and her breathing off- she stabilized far too quickly for this to be caused by the tumor." Elijah shifted Bella so she was laying straight on the couch before perching on the low table in front of her. Placing his hands on either side her head, he carefully pushed his way into her mind.

He brushed up against a barrier, the one that had seemingly kept out the mind-reader and kept her from being compelled, but it didn't eject him from her mind, instead allowing him to fully enter her subconscious and see what she was currently seeing.

It took him a moment to spot Isabella, standing ahead of him wearing a dark red gown. Studying the scene around them, Elijah realized they were in a marketplace he recognized from their time in the British courts; he was stunned to see a perfect recreation of a place from the 1400s in the mind of an 18-year-old. Before he could move to Isabella's side, the sound of Niklaus' laughter had him spinning around to face a tavern across the street. There was his brother stumbling out the door, eyes shining and a wide smirk across his features. Elijah stared as his brother turned the corner from the establishment and headed down a side street, away from the unaware brunette who seemed to be intently studying a stall full of fresh fruit and vegetables.

"Hannah!" called a familiar male voice and Elijah's breath caught at the sight of his youngest brother, Kol.

Isabella turned towards Kol, smiling brightly at the smirking Original. "Kol! What are you doing here?"

Kol glanced around before answering, seemingly reassuring himself that there was no one watching them in the square and Elijah felt a twinge of pain as his brother's gaze passed right through him. "I just came to see whether or not the blacksmith had finished with the sword being mended for dear Klaus."

"And was it? Or was Sir Walter forced to face your wrath?" Isabella teased, linking arms companionably with his unusually calm brother. Kol generally came across as slightly unhinged on the best of days but at that moment, he looked as calm and well-centered as he had while still human.

Elijah finally realized exactly when this was. It was late September in England, just a year before they had met Katerina. Kol had been very distant at the time, disappearing for hours on end and refusing to say where he was when he had reappeared. They had all just assumed that he had been out drinking and fighting as Niklaus was prone to do and then the brothers had been distracted by Rebekah and her newest love interest. If this was real though, if what he was seeing had truly occurred, then Kol had not been causing problems but was instead meeting with Isabella, or Hannah as he had called her.

He remembered what Kol had been like during those years. While he had always struggled with the loss of his magic, it wasn't until around the time that Katerina came into their lives that his bloodlust seemed to truly take over.

"Is there any word yet from your father?" Kol asked, meandering around to the different stalls with Isabella, Elijah following close behind.

Isabella sighed. "Yes. It seems that Lord Bedford is eager for an alliance between our families and is insisting to proceed with the proposed marriage."

Kol frowned, as did Elijah. The name was familiar to him, but he was unable to recall exactly who the man in question was. "I do not like this," Kol said, pulling the girl to a stop. "Please, please consider my offer."

Offering him a pained look, Isabella whispered, "I know, Kol, but what am I to do? I cannot bring such shame to my family."

"Francis Russell is a monster," his brother insisted. "Being the Earl of Bedford does not change what he truly is."

"Yes, I have heard the stories."

Elijah remembered then. The Earl's first wife had died in childbirth and he had quickly, near scandalously, remarried but on the night of their marriage, both had been found dead. Bedford had been barely recognizable and the cause of death had been unknown but it had been said that his wife had been beaten to death.

Realizing what must have truly happened, he lunged forward. "Isabella!" He grabbed her arm and spun her around, the dream world around them instantly going hazy. For a split second, they were standing in a dark, stone room with a red faced man silently yelling at Isabella's back before the blank look on her face disappeared and she slowly focused on him.

"Elijah?" she whispered, staring around her in confusion. Bella turned to see the man looming over her and instantly stepped back against him, shaking in fear. "Elijah!"

He growled at the fear in her tone before wrapping his arms around her and focusing, reshaping the world around her until they were standing in study with a roaring fireplace. "It's alright," he comforted her, turning Bella around in his arms so that she could hide her face in his chest. "Nothing will harm you here."

"I don't understand what's happening," she whimpered. "What's going on? Who was that? Where are we?" She was distantly aware that she was still asleep and that Elijah had someone entered her dreams and stopped her from having another nightmare. Was he really there though, or had her mind conjured him up as an impossible knight in shining armor?

Elijah had an idea of what might be happening but did not want to speak of it with her until he could confirm it. "I give you my word, Isabella, I will find out what is happening. Until then, please rest- you are safe here."

"Promise?" she whispered, his soothing presence already lulling her back to sleep.

"Always."

 **(A/N): Oh my god guys, I'm just super exhausted. Happy to be bringing this your way because exciting times are ahead for this story but it's also bedtime here and I am ready for it.**

 **Exciting news though guys: I am currently working on my first one-shot! And it is a doozy. Not only is it already 30 pages long and not even close to being done, but it is also super angsty. I'm hoping to be able to present it to you guys as a Christmas present of sorts ;)**

 **That being said, there are a few things you, my faithful readers, should be aware of for this next project. This story will also be a Vampire Diaries/Twilight crossover however, it will also be set in the world of my beta Hannbells story, _Blood Magic Diaries_ , which is a Vampire Diaries/Bloodline series crossover. Basically what this means is that her main character, Ravyn, will have a major role in my story. While I will of course provide a bit of a character summary at the beginning so that everyone knows a bit about her, it might be helpful to go read her story and get a feel for the character. Ravyn is an alchemist witch who is just beautiful and sassy and I needed Bella to have her as a friend. Hopefully I'll be able to churn out another chapter of _Things Unknown_ soon so that I can post this note on that story too so that those readers can also have the chance to read her story if they want to before taking on my one-shot.**

 **This short story has been legit haunting me the last few weeks, as Hannbells can attest to since I've been obsessively talking to her about it. Which, on the one hand, has been nice because I've written so much so quickly and I feel very accomplished. On the other, it's kind of kept me from working on anything else which was a little frustrating. I've had to force myself to focus only on my current projects and ignore everything else rattling around inside my head. I can literally feel a _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ plot bunny waiting in the wings and I refuse to get sucked in until I at least have this one-shot finished and posted! I cannot start another writing project until I get that one out! I am resolved!**

 **This chapter is unbetaed because Hannbells has been very busy but she gave her blessing this time so its all good!**

 **Until next time, darlings! Please leave a review on the way out! Hope you have an amazing Friday! (Unless it's also already Saturday for you, like it is in my part of the world.)**


	7. Chapter 7

Elijah opened his eyes and met Jonas' worried gaze.

"What happened?" Jonas asked.

"I can't be certain, but I believe Isabella's nightmares are actually memories from her previous doppelgängers. Have you found anything to support that idea in your research?"

Jonas leaned back in his seat and frowned. "No," he slowly started to answer. "However, that doesn't mean you're wrong. Although doppelgängers are technically the same exact 'person' being born over and over again in a bloodline, they don't have the same spirit or soul. The magic behind it is very hard to explain. But they are beings based in magic and it's possible, probable even, that future doppelgängers could be given important memories from the previous ones, passed down through the bloodline."

Elijah's eyes drifted back to Bella's peaceful expression. "The similar personalities with the Petrova doppelgängers," he murmured.

"Exactly. They don't have the same soul obviously since both Katherine and Elena are alive at the same time, but they could have been given the same memories and such from the earlier doppelgängers which would explain the similarities. It could also explain the interest in the Salvatore brothers- Katherine's memories echoing down through her bloodline even if she is still alive. The problem with that idea though is that, if it is true, Bella shouldn't actually be able to recall any of the memories given to her. They would be more like impression and instinctual feelings, not tangible recollections."

"An interesting thought," Elijah said, though his thoughts were on the similarities he had first noticed between Tatiana and Katerina when he had first met her. "Could the tumor have something to do with the fact that she is remembering something?"

"It's possible but very unlikely. What exactly makes you think they're memories and not just vivid dreams?"

He hesitated for a moment before slowly answering, "I recognized where she was and even the year; it was right before Katerina arrived in England. Isabella was speaking to someone I knew, which would not be possible unless she had actually met them at some point in her life."

"Which most likely couldn't be possible unless she had seen them. Sometimes, with witches and warlocks, an ancestor on the other side can contact them through dreams. I didn't recognize any of the names in her family tree but that doesn't mean that she doesn't have a magical ancestor who's trying to reach out, maybe share their story or give her some information they think is important."

Elijah would have preferred to keep Isabella's confidences but he felt it was necessary at this point to give Jonas full disclosure. "Every night she claims to dream of a different way she's died, all of which have seemingly been both painful and traumatizing."

"What kind of deaths?" Jonas asked sharply.

"Being ripped apart by wolves, being shot in the chest by a suitor, and the one tonight was of her being beaten to death on her wedding night by her husband; I managed to pull her out before he could actually hurt her but that event did actually occur. I remember the man and the fate of both he and his young bride were discussed frequently for almost a year after their passing. If this is being caused by someone else, then it is an attack against Isabella." Elijah forced himself to keep his expression blank and detached. Who could hold such a grudge against the brunette?

Bella whimpered then and Elijah's eyes snapped back to her. "I thought you pulled her out of it?" Jonas asked, alarmed at the expressions on both Bella's and Elijah's faces.

"I did." Elijah placed his hands back on Isabella's face and pushed.

Where previously her mind had almost seemed to welcome his presence, now there was a different barrier surrounding her. It felt as though a dark, thick substance was coating her shields and giving off waves of rage. When Elijah pressed against it, he hissed at the pain that shot through him and the feeling of something trying to push him back into his own mind. He growled and something changed then, shifted. He could sense Isabella, as if she had been able to hear his growl, and she was fighting the foreign substance in her mind, allowing a small gap to appear and Elijah pushed his way through.

Isabella sat in the corner the destroyed study he had left her in, tattered books scattered on the floor and every piece of furniture trashed beyond repair. "Isabella." Elijah kneeled down next to her balled form.

She slowly lifted her head from her knees. "I think," she finally said, "That you and I have very different ideas of safe."

A wave of regret washed over him. "I had thought you would be safe here; nothing should have been able to get in."

"Nothing did get in," Bella told him, moving to stretch her legs out in front of her. "Everything started shaking and I could sense someone else nearby but they were definitely not friendly so I just… the Cullen's were always talking about my mental shield and Luka had been asking me questions about it and I just kind of realized that this is my mind, my world, and if I didn't want anyone coming in without my permission then they weren't going to."

"You let me in," Elijah commented softly.

"Well, there's really no point in trying to keep you out now, is there?" Bella responded tightly. "I don't suppose the chat you had with Jonas helped shed any light and what was going on here, did it?"

"Your intelligence still impresses me," he told her with a small smile that made her blush, before he concentrated and the world around them shifted into a beautiful, open field and Bella let out a gasp as she felt the sun shine down on them.

Turning her face up, she closed her eyes and focused on the welcome warmth. "I've missed being outside," she admitted to him. "This is so nice."

"Why haven't you asked to go out?" Elijah inquired.

Bella shrugged. "At first it was because no one trusted me and I didn't want to push my luck. Now I don't because I know it would make you all uncomfortable." She turned to him and smiled faintly at the way his eyes had widened slightly at her words. "Like you said, I'm intelligent. I know that there's something going on in town that has you all in knots; if I tried to go out and about whenever I wanted to, you would all worry about the many things that could happen to me. It's just not worth it at this point."

Elijah sighed. "While I do admire your compassion for others, it's alright for you to do things for yourself. If you would like to go out, then do small things first: go with Jonas to the store to pick ingredients or to the library with Luka and choose your own books. As long as you listen when they ask something of you and stay close, there should be no issues."

She studied him for a moment with eyes far too old. "Why are you doing this? Why are you being kind now?"

 _Could she see him for the monster he was?_ "Sometimes," he finally answered. "We are forced to do things we regret in order to right our wrongs."

"When you say it like that, it makes it sound as though you don't want to stop your brother."

"I was referring to the sacrifice," he responded with a faint sigh.

Bella gave a small huff of laughter, which was tinged with bitterness. "No, you're not. I may know next to nothing about you, but I know you don't do anything you don't want to do. If you didn't want to use me then you wouldn't."

He looked as though she had stabbed him in the chest. "I see. Is that your true opinion of me?"

"Am I wrong? Are you going to tell me that you don't want to sacrifice me? That if you had another option you would use it?" Elijah didn't answer her, just studied her expression. "Why Virginia?" she abruptly asked.

"What?"

"Why did you bring me to Virginia?" she expounded. "What's so important about Virginia?"

"This field was close to our home when we were human," Elijah said and Bella could have screamed in frustration. "My siblings and I used to spend our free time here before we were turned. This is where the curse was cast on my brother."

On the one hand, he was opening up to her, which is something she wanted, but it felt like he was doing it in order to avoid answering her questions. "What is this curse? What happened to your brother and why are you working against him now? I can see in your eyes how much you care about him, so why are you trying to stop him?"

"That is not your concern," he warned.

Bella stood up and threw her arms up in the air. "You're impossible! I don't get it! You keep encouraging me to ask for things, to come to you with any questions I have, saying that I have the right to know what's going on but when I do you won't answer anything! I can't keep doing this, whatever this is. Don't I have enough going on without trying to guess which Elijah I'm going to speaking with on any particular day: the one who actually looks at me, sees me, or the one who couldn't be bothering acknowledging the existence of such a lowly creature?"

Elijah also stood. "There are some things that you do not need to know."

"And how am I supposed to figure out the line?" she shot back. "You tell me I have the right to know how I'm going to die but you refuse to tell me why. Does the why really change the story? Does it make such a difference?"

 _Yes._ "I'm not sure what exactly you want from me at this point."

Taking a slow, deep breath, Bella closed her eyes as she let it out and tried to regain her temper. "I want you to either answer my questions or I want you to go back to the vampire who couldn't give a damn about how I was doing as long as I wasn't threatening your plans."

Considering the fact that from the very start, Elijah had always felt something for Isabella beyond indifference, it would be impossible for him to go back to being something he never was. "Niklaus is my half-brother."

Bella was glad that there was nothing in arms reach for her to throw at him then because felt like she was losing her mind. Then, his words actually penetrated her anger and she stared at him, relaxing slightly.

"Our mother had an affair with another man from a nearby village and fell pregnant. I believe she had hoped that Niklaus was actually my father, Mikael's, son but once he was born she realized that he wasn't. Unfortunately, the other man was a werewolf, the Alpha of a nearby pack actually, and she knew that Mikael would soon realize what she had done unless she took steps to prevent it.

"In order to keep my brother from triggering his curse and alerting Mikael to the truth of his existence, our mother gave him a necklace that weakened him. Mikael was a warrior and raised his children as such and Niklaus' weakness enraged him and he was often beaten because of it."

She felt a spark of sympathy for Klaus. "I know the bite of werewolf causes a human to change, how does someone who was born from a werewolf parent change?"

"A werewolf will have their first transition after they have a killed a human being."

It only took Bella a minute to realize what must have happened. "Oh god. He killed someone after you were all turned, didn't he?"

Elijah smiled and the bitterness there broke Bella's heart a bit. "You are far cleverer than you are given credit for, Isabella. During the full moon, my family would hide in a nearby cave to keep ourselves safe. One night, our youngest brother, Henrik, convinced Niklaus to go out and see the wolves with him while the rest of us slept. We were awoken the next morning when we heard Niklaus screaming for our mother, clutching Henrik's mauled body to his chest.

"Unable to bear the thought of losing any more children, Mikael insisted our mother find a way to give each of us immortality and, with the help of another witch, she managed to cast the spell that would prevent us from ever dying. While there was a bit of a, shall we say, learning curve after we were turned into vampires, things were well enough until after Niklaus killed his first human. With his werewolf gene activated, Niklaus became a vampire and werewolf hybrid and Mother's infidelity was revealed."

"What happened to Niklaus?" The guilt in Elijah's eyes made her stomach turn. "Elijah, what did your father do to Klaus?"

"He had our mother use Dark Magic in order to bind his werewolf side before rejecting him as their son," Elijah whispered. Despite everything Niklaus had done to their family, he still couldn't stop the guilt he felt over the part he'd played in hurting his brother. "Mikael then hunted down and killed Niklaus' birth father."

"So, your brother was abused as a child, cursed by his own mother, rejected by the only parents he'd known, and then had a father he'd only just found out about and who may have actually cared about him murdered. What, his childhood wasn't bad enough for you, want to make sure he's still suffering?"

Elijah reared back. "I love my brother!" he spat, his famed control starting to slip.

"Then why?! What is all of this about? Obviously it isn't the sacrifices necessary to do so since you need him to break his curse in order to stop him and I'm here, so what's the deal? It's clear you're feeling guilty about something, so what is it? Is it something you did? Or is it because you feel like you're going to be just another person who betrayed your brother?"

He didn't know why her opinion mattered so much to him but it did. "He killed our siblings. He destroyed our family and I can never forgive him for that."

Bella stayed quiet, hoping her silence would provoke him into actually explaining everything to her.

"I told you I had five siblings: Finn, Niklaus, Kol, Rebekah, and Henrik. Henrik died when we were still human and then Niklaus killed the others. I have stood by my brother for almost a thousand years, refusing to turn away from him even when our other siblings did because I knew I was partially responsible for what he turned into but this, this was unforgivable."

"Are you sure they're dead?" she finally asked.

"He told me, bragged actually, that he had daggered our siblings and tossed them into the ocean where they were never to be found."

"Daggered?"

That was clearly not something he meant to say. "As the first vampires, we are unable to be killed. The closest we can come to it is by being stabbed with a special kind of dagger."

She could tell that he'd only given her fragments of the truth but ignored it. Bella had only met Elijah, she had no real idea what kind of person Klaus was but… "What if he lied?"

"He didn't."

Elijah seemed so sure and Bella really had no leg to stand on, but she couldn't help saying, "Are you sure?"

Instead of seeming annoyed by her questions, Elijah seemed almost calm. As though by telling someone else his story, it would no longer continue choking him. "Why do you ask?"

Bella didn't answer, just stood there and stared blankly at the scenery around them. "I…" She blinked and then refocused on him. "It's nothing. I just can't imagine someone killing their whole family for no reason. I mean, it's been a thousand years. Why get rid of them now? And why didn't he try to get you?"

"Niklaus knows he's no match for me."

She stared him down. "If that was true, then I wouldn't be here, would I?"

He sighed. "I understand that this situation is frustrating for you-"

"No," she cut him off. "You don't. If you did, then you wouldn't have chosen the word 'frustrating' to describe this mess. It's not the whole dying bit that bothers me- that really is just me fulfilling my destiny at this point. My problem is that it feels like you're not accepting what's going to happen, which is super weird because you're the one in charge here. It feels like your delaying the inevitable and it needs to stop."

"I have no idea what you mean."

"Really? Okay, let me be blunt then: why haven't you contacted Niklaus yet?"

Elijah's eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. Why haven't you contacted Klaus?" she repeated. "I get why you waited in the beginning since you wanted to make sure I'd live long enough for him to get here. But here we are, I'm alive, and yet you still haven't reached out to him. Why? What's holding you back? And why are we waiting for him in Virginia? Does he have to be in the place where he was originally cursed in order to break it? For that matter, he needs me to break his curse but you claim that you have no intention of letting him do that. So, am I bait? Why do I need to be living bait if you just want to draw him here?"

"That is not something you need to be concerned with," he warned again. His reasons were his own and he didn't owe Isabella any explanations, despite what his conscious was telling him.

Bella's eyes hardened. "Then I guess we have nothing left to say." And then, with a flick of her wrist, Elijah was forcibly ejected from her mind.

* * *

Luka was laughing so hard he was almost doubled over. "I can't believe you kicked him out," he choked out. "Damn girl, I didn't think you had it in you."

"I didn't know what else to do," Bella cried, burying her face into the back of the couch. In the actual light of day, she kind of regretted her actions. She shouldn't have pushed Elijah so hard; he had his reasons and he was over a thousand years old or so, meaning he probably knew what he was doing. She had never really been good at the whole thinking ahead thing though.

"You did the right thing," he said, straightening up. "You're still a person," Luka continued, in response to her look of confusion. "Just because Elijah is a vampire and kind of a big deal in the supernatural world doesn't negate your thoughts and feelings."

"Do the thoughts and feelings of a dead girl walking really matter?" Bella wondered aloud. Then, shaking her head, she continued, "It doesn't matter. When I finally woke up he was gone and there has been no sign of him."

"He had to run some errands," Luka explained vaguely, running his hand over his head. If it had been his decision, they'd have already explained the entire situation to Bella and then he'd be able to tell her what Elijah was actually up to. Instead, he was forced to tell her vague truths, which was only slightly better than handing her full-on lies.

"Right. Did those errands have anything to do with whatever happened to you last night?"

"No," he said scowling.

Bella studied him for a moment. "Alright. But since you now seem to remember what you got up to last night, care to share with the class?"

He had walked right into that one. "I need to check on something for myself before I say anything." Luka needed to actually see and speak to Bonnie before he said something to his father; no point in worrying him if nothing had actually happened.

"Let me know how it goes in the land of denial."

Luka rolled his eyes. "It's super annoying when you do that."

"That is my entire life's purpose, Luka, to annoy you into insanity."

"And you're doing wonderfully," interjected Jonas as he walked into the living room, smiling slightly at the sight of the two teens relaxing together on the couch.

"I see how it is," Luka said with a laugh, standing up and stretching. "I'll just leave you two to plot against me."

"That'd be great; it's much easier to do that behind your back than to your face."

He reached out and tousled Bella's hair as he passed. "Brat."

"Asshole," she muttered, quickly fixing her hair.

"Language," Jonas called from the kitchen.

Luka groaned. "Leaving," he responded.

His father stopped him before he could walk out the door. "You okay?" he asked softly.

"I will be." Throwing on his shoes and jacket, Luka told him, "I need to go check on something, but we need to talk when I get back."

Jonas studied him for a moment. "Alright. Be safe."

Once Luka was gone, Bella hesitantly peeked over the back of the couch at Jonas. She didn't know if Elijah had told him anything, but she was worried that the older man would have something to say about her treatment of the Original vampire. They had only just started to get along and Bella would hate for something to come along and ruin that.

He could feel her gaze on his back but Jonas didn't say anything. He wasn't sure what exactly had happened between Bella and Elijah last night, Elijah hadn't said anything once he'd left Bella's mind and the look on his face had kept Jonas from making any comments.

"What's the plan for today?" Bella finally asked when she couldn't bear the silence anymore.

"I have some research to do," Jonas told her, turning to place two plates of food on the table.

Even though she wasn't all that hungry, Bella knew better than to try and get out of eating and went to sit at the table. "Alright, anything I can help with?"

"No," he answered, joining her. "I will need the grimoires though, so it would probably be best if you took a break from cataloguing today."

Bella looked at him suspiciously. "Why can't I help you look for whatever spell it is you need?"

"Plausible deniability," he said, smirking slightly at her. "The less you know, the less likely you are to slip up and say something."

"Hey! I am not a snitch!"

"You aren't, but your subconscious is much less trustworthy and I don't need you saying something to the wrong person in your sleep."

"Hiding things from your son, huh?" Bella sniffed, giving him an overly-exaggerated judging look. "I had thought better of you but whatever." Jonas just smiled at her.

After they were finished eating, he waved her away before collecting a stack of books. Bella settled onto the floor in front of the coffee table, several textbooks spread out in front of her as she carefully took notes. She was determined to be finished with the science portion of her GED by the end of the week and refused to let anything set her back. Even if Jonas hadn't insisted she take a break from helping him that afternoon, she had already planned on focusing only on her schoolwork for the next few days.

Both of them were moving along quickly in their respective projects until the door flew open and Luka stomped into the apartment. "We're in trouble," he told his father. Once Jonas was focusing on him, Luka continued. "Bonnie knows. She drugged me yesterday, her and Jeremy Gilbert."

Standing so quickly his chair fell over, Jonas bellowed, "What?! And you're only telling me now?!"

"I wanted to be sure!" Luka defended himself. "I had to know for sure before I said anything; I didn't want you doing anything rash."

"What's going on?" Bella asked, also standing up and moving over to the two men. "What does Bonnie know?"

They ignored her. "Do you have any idea what kind of danger you put yourself in?" Jonas asked. "One word to the wrong person and everything could fall apart!" When Luka didn't say anything, his father threw up his hands in frustration before grabbing his coat and headed to the door.

"Where are you going?" Luka asked.

"To fix this!" Jonas snapped. "Stay here and watch Bella. Do not leave this apartment until I get back."

Bella flinched at the loud bang the door made as Jonas slammed it behind him. "Where's he going?" she whispered.

Luka looked at her and Bella felt her stomach drop at the drawn look on his face. "To keep Bonnie quiet," he finally muttered.

"And what does that mean?"

Shrugging, Luka moved to sink down onto the couch. "They drugged me yesterday, probably wanting to know more about the ritual. Elijah's going to be murderous if he finds out."

Despite his best attempts to hide it, Bella saw the fear in his eyes and she sighed, moving to sit down next to him and throwing an arm around him. "It'll be alright," she said softly. "Elijah isn't going to find out. And even if he does, I promise that he won't hurt you. It wasn't your fault and Elijah will know that."

He seemed unconvinced. "I fucked up, Bella."

"Yeah, well, story of my life, Luka. Sometimes, that's just how it goes. You fuck up, everything goes to hell, and all you can do is pick up the pieces as best you can and move forward."

"That's encouraging," Luka snorted.

"It's honest," she corrected. "And trust me, honesty is always the preferable choice in situations like these. Lies get you nowhere."

* * *

Jonas came back nearly two hours later but refused to say where he had been, only telling the two teens, "I've handled it. End of discussion."

Bella, who was more used to being kept in the dark than Luka and having become slightly indifferent to the goings-on outside the apartment, just sighed before going back to her studies. If it wasn't for the dark look his father had given him, Luka might have tried to press for details but instead just went to his room and stayed there for the rest of the evening.

Once she had finished the end of chapter quiz, Bella stood up and headed into the kitchen to make herself a celebratory mug of hot cocoa. Pulling a small saucepan out of the cupboard, Bella decided to pour enough milk for all three of them and set it on the stove. As it was heating up, she went to grab the chocolate but stopped in the middle of the kitchen as a wave of panic hit her.

"Bella?" Jonas asked from the doorway, concerned at the expression on her face.

"Somethings wrong," she whispered.

"What's wrong?" he questioned, moving to her side and grasping her elbow.

"I don't know. I don't… something's happened."

"Are you not feeling well? Is it something to do with the tumor?" Leading her over to the table, Jonas gently pushed her into a chair and kneeled in front of her.

"No, it's not me. There's nothing wrong with me."

After making her describe in detail what she was feeling, and then another minute of fruitless questioning once Bella said that the panicked, aching feeling was gone, Jonas was just about to throw in the towel when the front door opened and Elijah appeared in the room.

Stunned by the vampires sudden appearance, and by the blood on his shirt, Jonas blurted out, "What happened?"

Luka hurried into the room at the noise and froze. "Damn," he muttered.

"I need you to find Elena," Elijah stated, demeanor eerily calm. "Now."

"Who's Elena?" Bella asked as Jonas strode over to the table.

The two men ignored her as Luka moved to gently tug on her arm. "C'mon, we should probably stay out of the way right now."

Bella shook him off and took a few steps towards the vampire. "Elijah, are you okay? What happened? Who's Elena?" Elijah ignored her, unwilling to take the time to answer her questions. "Elijah?"

"Go to your room, Bella," Jonas ordered.

"Don't," Luka whispered to her when she stepped forward to argue. Grabbing her by the arm, he propelled her down the hall and into her bedroom. "I know you have questions," he said after he had closed the door behind them. "I get it, but now is really not the time."

"He's hiding something," Bella argued. "You all are, and I want to know what."

"I know you do- I get it. But I've been sworn to secrecy and as much as I love you girl, I do not want to take the beatdown that would be coming my way if I started getting chatty with you."

She stared at him. "Love me? Do you mean that in the casual 'you brought me chocolate and are a beautiful human being' or in the 'I'm going to cry when you're gone' sort of way?"

Luka swallowed down the lump in his throat at the reminder that the girl in front of him would be dead soon and there was nothing he could do to stop it. "The cry when you're gone sort of way."

Bella couldn't stop the tear that ran down her face. "I'm sorry," she whispered. "I didn't want…"

"I'm not." Stepping forward, Luka hugged Bella tightly, the first hug she'd had in months since Charlie wasn't really the hugging type. "This is gonna hurt like hell but no regrets."

"Moron," she sighed, resting her head on his shoulder.

It was nice, this hug. For so long, Bella had been the only one holding herself together but at that moment, it felt like Luka was willingly taking on a bit of that responsibility for himself. She loved him too, Bella suddenly realized, loved him in a similar way to what she'd felt for Emmett but this time the feeling was stronger, solid.

"Sorry I can't have your back," whispered Luka, resting his cheek on top of her head.

"Sorry for pushing you when I know you can't talk," Bella murmured. They stood there for a moment, Bella gratefully soaking in Luka's comforting aura, until Jonas opened the door and stuck his head in.

"Elijah's gone," he said evenly, studying the expressions on their faces. They both seemed a little drawn, a little weary, but not at all embarrassed at being caught together. That was comforting to him, Luka at least would have been embarrassed if he had been caught by his dad with someone he had romantic feelings for. The older warlock had the sense that it wouldn't end well if Luka found himself falling for the small brunette. "You both should probably turn in for the night."

"Okay," Bella sighed, finally pulling away from Luka and moving towards the dresser to pull out some pajamas. Softly wishing her a good sleep, the two men left her to her thoughts.

 **(A/N): What's this? Another update? And so soon? How shocking! What can I say guys, this has just been really flowing for me. Especially now that we're getting into the good stuff.**

 **Next chapter will be the moment you've all been waiting for: Bella finds out about everything that's been going on and she's not thrilled. And yeah, that is a definite understatement.**

 **I'm feeling very proud of myself right now though because I am updating all my stories right now and I'm reading for the responses to start flowing in!**

 **This chapter has been betaed by Hannbells so make sure to send some thankful vibes her way! Hope you all have an amazing weekend! Please leave a review on your way out!**


	8. Chapter 8

"Alright," Bella said, planting herself in front of the two men. "What's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Jonas asked, expression blank as Luka flinched slightly at the look on her face.

"I know there's something going on," she told him, voice steely. "I know there's something wrong."

Jonas was prepared to try and dismiss her claims until Luka interjected. "Dad," he said softly, waiting until his father met his gaze. "Maybe we should tell her."

"Absolutely not."

"It's Elijah, isn't it?" Bella whispered.

The other two looked over at her in surprise. "What makes you say that?" Luka asked.

"I finally figured out what I'm feeling." At their confused looks she elaborated. "Last night, I was feeling off and then after I started feeling normal Elijah appeared looking a little worse for wear. Then, when I woke up this morning, I was feeling off again and you two are looking panicked and there's no Elijah in sight. So, either you're trying to hide something from him or he's the reason you're all freaked out."

"The dagger," Luka breathed. "You're able to sense that he's been daggered."

Bella raised an eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. Jonas sighed. "Someone's trying to stop Elijah from going through with his plan to kill Klaus."

"Why?"

When Jonas hesitated, Luka broke in. "They want to stop him from killing the doppelgänger."

Bella looked at them, bewildered. "Why would anyone want to try and save me?"

Luka winced. "It's not you they're trying to save."

She stared at them for a moment, trying to understand what he meant. Then, "I see. So much for being all sorts of special."

* * *

Staring blankly at the wall in front of her as she sat on the sofa, Bella tried to process everything she'd been told.

"Bells?" Luka whispered.

She stood up and walked over to the window, unable to look at either of them for the moment. They'd lied to her. All of it, every moment she'd spent here, thinking that she was somehow special or… whatever it was she'd thought. It was all a lie.

Elena Gilbert. She was the other doppelgänger; the girl Elijah had been desperate to find yesterday. The backup- only to be used if Bella wasn't an option.

The more she thought about it, the angrier Bella got. _Elena_ wasn't kidnapped and forced away from her home. _Elena_ was allowed to roam free without any supervision. _Elena_ wasn't in a position where she was pathetically grateful for even a phone call. _Elena_ hadn't been judged as not worthy to be saved. Then again, Elena wasn't certain to die either way.

But no one had been aware of that when they'd first decided to take her. Take her all the way to Mystic Falls just so that they could be close to fucking _Elena Gilbert._

Bella hadn't even met the girl yet but she already hated her.

They'd told her that Elena and two vampires, Damon and Stefan Salvatore, had managed to dagger Elijah, which was the closest thing to death that could be done to take out an Original vampire. It was a pretty impressive feat, she knew, for two vampires only about 150 years old and a human to accomplish. But that meant that it probably wouldn't be all that simple to get them out of the way long enough to retrieve Elijah.

"You're sure they have him?" she asked, voice distant.

"Mostly," Jonas answered softly. "He told me yesterday they tried to dagger him and then he left to find Elena and hasn't been in contact since. It stands to reason that they realized they had to leave the dagger in order for Elijah to stay dead. We're going to meet with Stefan and Bonnie Bennet soon and find out for sure."

"The witch who drugged Luka?"

"Yes."

She nodded. "And then what? They have Elijah locked away somewhere in a next-level undead state, how do you plan on getting him out?"

"We have a plan," was all Jonas said.

After another lengthy argument, they finally told her what they were thinking and Bella found herself highly unimpressed. It was far too risky, in addition to having no guarantees. There was one way for them to increase their odds though. Turning to face them, Bella gave the small, bitter grin. "Might I add one suggestion in order to guarantee you get what you want?"

* * *

They hadn't liked her plan and they had loudly let her know it. But after a very long shouting match, followed by a cooling down period as they went to talk with Bonnie and Stefan, they had eventually agreed to try her way. Which was why she was currently walking up the drive to the Salvatore Boarding House, an invisible Luka supposedly watching her back. Not that she had any guarantee of that, though her subconscious apparently believed he was on her right side. Clutching the large manila envelope in her hands, Bella took a deep breath. "Let's do this," she muttered, pressing on the doorbell.

"So there are still people out there who know the common rules of courtesy," came a male voice as the door swung open. "Color me surprised."

"I'd say you're more snarky than shocked but you do you," Bella retorted. So, this was Damon Salvatore. Or at least, a guy who matched the description given to her by Jonas and Luka. Dark black hair, clear blue eyes, and a, supposedly, ever present smirk.

"And I'd say you're awfully spunky for a complete stranger." Damon leaned against the doorframe and stared coolly at her. "If you're here selling Girl Scout cookies then I'm sad to say that we're currently on a sugar-free diet."

She raised one eyebrow and gave him a detached look in response. "Does it look like I'm wearing the outfit of a whorer of overpriced baked goods?"

Damon leered at her. "Now that you mention it, you aren't. Still doesn't tell me what you want."

"Probably because I haven't gotten around to answering your question." He stood there silently, waiting for her to speak. "What, not going to invite me in? How rude of you."

As if a switch had been flipped, Damon's casual stance now had a menacing undertone to it. "We don't usually make it a habit of inviting strangers inside."

"That's funny," Bella snorted. "Seeing as how the owner of this overgrown hole is dead, I would think two vampires would be used to any sort of rift-raft just wandering in at will."

Faster than her human eyes could see, Damon's hand was around her throat and squeezing with just enough pressure to send an automatic flare of panic to her nervous system. "Who the fuck are you?" he snarled.

Bella lifted up her hand and pressed the vervain-coated silver bracelet she was wearing against the wrist holding her. Damon hissed and snatched his hand away, giving her an evaluating look. "Don't worry, Damon. I, unlike you, don't bite."

"Oh, I don't know about that," he snarked. "I feel like you'd be a wild little thing under the right circumstances."

She smiled slightly against her will. "Don't you have enough female related problems at the moment? Why invite in more trouble?"

"What can I say," Damon shrugged. "I'm a sucker for a good cat-fight." Then he stepped inside. "Come on in, nameless she-devil."

"Considering the fact that you apparently have Katherine squatting on the premises," Bella started as she stepped into the house, "do you really want to assign the title of she-devil to little old me?"

Following him down the hall, she couldn't help the wide-eyed look she gave to the library he had led her into. It was a literature lover's dream and Bella couldn't help wishing she had come here under better circumstances. "You seem to know a lot about us for someone who I haven't even seen around town before now."

"That was the goal," she muttered.

"I thought I heard my name," came a sultry voice from across the room and Bella's eyes snapped to a figure laying on a couch. Curly brown hair, tanned skin, and cold dark eyes- Katherine Pierce a.k.a. Katerina Petrova, the elder doppelgänger. She stood up and sauntered over to them. "And who might you be?"

"That's what I'd like to know too," Damon said, placing a hand on Bella's back and guiding her to one of the chairs. "She seems to know all about us and I have to say, not loving it right now."

"If it's all the same to you," Bella said, slouching down into her chair comfortably, "I'd prefer to wait until Stefan joined us so that I didn't have to do this spiel twice."

Damon sighed. "Lucky for you that Stefan is here, otherwise I would be giving you a very different answer."

"You called?" came another male's voice and Bella turned sharply to look at the other Salvatore brother. She'd seen pictures of him curtesy of Luka and Jonas but damn, his resemblance to Edward really was eerie.

"There you go," Damon grandly announced, sweeping his arm out. "The whole gang is here now, so start talking."

"I'd hardly call this the whole gang," Bella muttered before sighing. "My name is Isabella Swan and I'm here because you have Elijah and I'm going to be needing him back."

The other three just stared at her blankly for a moment. "You're joking, right?" Stefan finally said. "What does someone like you want with Elijah?"

"Well obviously it's because he's oh-so important to me and I just can't live without him," Bella snarked.

Katherine laughed. "I highly doubt that; there's no way someone like him would ever be involved with someone like you."

"I know," Bella mocked. "I was shocked too. There I was, all naïve and innocent. Then, along came Elijah Mikaelson and it was as if everything I had thought I'd known changed in a single moment." The fact that none of what she was saying was a lie just made this all the more enjoyable.

"What does a human like you want with an Original Vampire?" Damon asked, finding himself oddly amused by the little human.

A squeeze on her shoulder told Bella that it was time to cut to the chase. "I'm hurt you think I'm just some average human. After all," her lips twisted into a bitter smirk, "I am a doppelgänger."

The glass in Katherine's hand shattered and the brothers gaped at her. "What the fuck?" Damon finally spat out. "That's impossible."

"Oh, c'mon now," Bella goaded, staring at Katherine. "You didn't really believe that your line was the only one, did you?"

"It is the only one," Katherine snarled, veins appearing around her eyes.

"Hate to burst your bubble there, Princess, but no, it's not." Bella tossed the packet of papers at Damon.

Ripping open the envelope, Damon pulled out a handful of pictures and papers. On the top of the pile was a picture of Bella from when she was in Phoenix, all sunshine and happy days, and underneath was a picture and several older drawings of a few of her ancestors. "Fuck," he swore, eyes wide as Stefan and Katherine crowded around him to look to.

"That just about summed up my thoughts on the matter." She sat back, watching as they muttered to each other.

"She's lying," Katherine insisted. "She has to be."

"Why would I do that?" Bella asked. "It's a dangerous thing to be doing nowadays, calling yourself a doppelgänger."

"Because you're obviously insane," she sneered. Damon and Stefan however, were now staring at her with appraising eyes.

Deciding to ignore the female vampire for the moment, Bella focused her attention on the Salvatore brothers. "Not too long ago I was walking back to my car from a doctor's appointment when this man came out of nowhere, knocked me unconscious, and brought me all the way to Virginia under the orders of his boss, Elijah Mikaelson. Before then, I had no idea that vampires, witches, and werewolves existed." She deliberately left out any mention of Cold Ones, no need to invite trouble. "And that was also when I learned all about the very rare and special thing called a doppelgänger, which is what I, unfortunately, am."

"If Elijah already has a doppelgänger," Damon broke in, "then why the hell was he going after Elena?"

"If you keep reading," Bella told him calmly, "you'll be able to figure out the answer to that for yourself."

Damon started rapidly flipping through the papers, Stefan still standing by his side. Katherine had taken a seat across from Bella, staring at her coldly. "I have no idea what any of this is saying," Damon spat, looking like he was ready to start throwing things around in anger.

Stefan reached out and took the information from his brother, eyes skimming over what was written on one of the sheets. "You're dying," he stated softly, interrupting his brother's tirade. "Brain tumor?"

Bella sat back. "And ten points go to the brooding vampire. Yeah, I'm dying. Elijah brought me here to keep an eye on me and so that, should I not be a viable option once Klaus rolls into town, he'll be able to immediately snatch up his backup."

"If Elijah really did kidnap you, why the hell are you here trying to get him back?" Damon asked. "Shouldn't you be off celebrating your freedom?"

"With what, the limited amount of time I have left before my brain gives out on me? Very painfully too, I might add."

"Did Elijah promise you something in return for agreeing to the sacrifice?" Stefan asked, coming to sit down near her. "Is that why you want to get him back?"

"Does it matter?" Bella asked.

"We're not undaggering him," Katherine broke in. "And you should probably know that your little tumor won't magically disappear once you're turned; I'm guessing Elijah forgot to mention that when he was making a deal with you."

Yeah, it was official: Katherine Pierce was a straight-up bitch. And an idiot, which wasn't a good combo. "That wasn't part of our arrangement but nice try."

"And you don't get a say in what we do," Damon told the female vampire with a glare. "But she is right about us not going to let Elijah go. We will, however, allow you to walk out of her still breathing since you're so tragic and all."

Bella sighed. "I was afraid of that. I didn't really want to go this route, but it seems I must; shall we move on to the threatening portion of our conversation?"

Damon smirked, obviously amused. "You, threaten us? And how is a little bit like you going to do that?"

Crossing her legs, Bella smirked back at him. "Since I arrived here, Luka has been trying to teach me how to play poker. I'm not very good at it, but the one thing I have learned is that things tend to go a lot smoother for you when you're the one holding all the cards. So, Katherine, since I believe this will be your area of expertise, care to share with the class just how well you'll all do against Klaus once he arrives in town without Elijah's help?" Bella couldn't help taking joy in how quickly the blood drained from Katherine's face and she wondered when she had become so mean.

"Klaus is on his way?" Stefan growled.

"You're lying," Damon denied.

"Boys, I'm a terminally ill girl who is going to be dead in days; I've got nothing to lose by having Klaus show up here in Mystic Falls. Last I checked though, you most certainly do."

"It doesn't matter," Katherine announced, appearing in front of Bella. "Now that we've got you, we'll just hand you over to Klaus and that'll be that."

"Yeah? You and what army?" Bella laughed. "You've got two relatively young vampires, one actual baby vamp, and a rather ineffectual hunter. I've got two warlocks who not only took away the powers of your one witch, but who also defeated an entire pack of werewolves. Not to mention the fact that, without Elijah here to keep Klaus focused on the end game, I get the sneaking suspicion that the vampire in question is going to want to focus on settling some old scores; he's been hunting you for all this time, Katherine, you really think he's just going to leave you alive if he finds you here? And he will find you here no matter what you're thinking of doing to me, Jonas and Luka have already ensured that. And if you two," she looked to the now tense Salvatore brothers, "think that you can somehow bargain with him in order to spare Elena then you are gravely mistaken. If you don't release Elijah, then Klaus is going to be informed of the existence of your little girlfriend and he will go after her; after all, why kill some random doppelgänger when you can have the look-alike of the woman who's been running from him for over 500 years?"

Bella was kind of having the time of her life right now. For so long, she had been the one having to react to things, the one taking the punches. Now, she was the one throwing them and she totally got why people did this kind of thing all the time- forcing other people into doing what they wanted. These three were going to be dancing to her tune and a darker part of her loved that. Not enough to try and live her life constantly doing this, but enough to understand others who did.

"I get that you're new in town," Damon hissed, pushing Katherine out of the way so he could get in her face. "But if you think that you can just come in here and issue orders then you are in for a rude awakening."

Damon was suddenly thrown away from her and crashing into the stone fireplace, only barely avoiding being set on fire. "Man," Bella groaned, standing up. "You all really are dumb. I don't know why, but I just thought you guys would be a little cleverer than this. I'm not some B class villain, guys- I don't waltz in and hand out the exact details of my plan for no reason. I just told you the backup plan."

"Then what's the real one?" Stefan spat, moving to his brother's side.

Bella's gaze was drawn to the figure now standing in the doorway. "Well boys, that explanation would take far too long for my taste. Let's just say that, for this little trick, I'm just the beautiful assistant. And isn't it just tragic that you were too distracted to notice the magician's sleight of hand?"

"Elijah," Katherine whispered, staring in horror at the man glaring down at them.

"Hello, Katerina." He appeared in front of her suddenly, grasping the vampire by the throat. "Normally, I would just compel you to do as I asked but I can smell the vervain on you, so it looks as though we'll have to do this a different way." Elijah twisted his wrist and snapped her neck, letting her lifeless body fall into a heap at his feet as he turned to the Salvatore Brothers.

"If I were you, boys," Bella spoke up as they stared in horror at the Original Vampire, "I'd run." They didn't need to be told twice.

Slowly moving to stand in front of her, Elijah glared down at Bella and she had to force down a shiver of fear at the sight. "What-"

She held up a hand and interrupted. "Before you start interrogating me, maybe you should go grab a few blood bags and dump Katherine somewhere so that we can head back; Jonas is probably freaking out by now."

Interrupting an already pissed off vampire was a bold, and stupid, move on her part but luckily for her, Elijah only growled before zipping away. Bella stood up and bent over to grab what looked like an old journal that had fallen off the table in the commotion of her arrival. "Jonathon Gilbert," she muttered. "Must be one of Elena's ancestors." Deliberating for a moment, Bella finally shoved the book in her pocket. It may have been petty, but she hoped the loss of a family artifact would upset the other doppelgänger. She was dying for the other girl, after all.

* * *

Bella was waiting in the car by the time Elijah came out of the house, Katherine cradled in his arms. She watched as he popped open the trunk and heard the thump as he dumped her body in it. He slowly climbed into the passenger seat and began to down a blood bag as Bella started the car, rolling down the windows to help with the smell and driving away from the Salvatore house.

"What happened?" Elijah demanded, after he had downed a third blood bag.

"I saved your ass," Bella snapped. "That's what happened."

The calm place she had forced herself into when hearing about what Elijah had actually been up to and learning about Elena's existence had shattered now that the vampire was back and all that was left in its wake was _rage._

"Jonas should never have let you be involved in the first place!"

Bella slammed on the brakes and threw the car into park on the side of the road, throwing open her door and climbing out. The resounding noise when she slammed the door shut only made her feel a little better.

"Get back in the car, Isabella," Elijah warned, also climbing out of the vehicle.

"No, Elijah," she bit out. "You want to have this conversation then we are going to have it face to face so you can look me in the eye while you explain to me _what the fuck is going on."_

His expression immediately turned impassive. "What did Jonas and Luka tell you?"

"What they told me doesn't matter. What does matter is that I just had a sit down with the Salvatore brothers and your ex Katherine, who really does look just like her doppelgänger, Elena."

Elijah frowned, his eyes scanning her with what she might have once thought was concern. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

She couldn't help the short, almost hysterical laugh that escaped her. "Does it matter? After all, I've got a replacement just waiting in the wings should things not work out with ridding yourself of me."

"It's-"

"If the words 'it's not like that' come out of your mouth," Bella warned. "I will dagger you again myself."

That was the wrong thing to say. Elijah appeared in front of her, jaw clenched and eyes flaring, and pinned her against the side of the car. "Don't make threats if you cannot follow through with them," he warned.

"Hey, I managed to get you out of there undaggered and with no casualties," she shot back, struggling against his hold. "What, didn't Elena and Katherine prove to you that you shouldn't underestimate a doppelgänger?"

Elijah growled. "Katerina and Elena have nothing to do with this."

Bella felt a flare of jealousy at the way he said their names and it just pissed her off more.

"Really? So you're saying that you didn't drag me off to Virginia so that you keep an eye on your ex-lover's lookalike? That you haven't been working all this time to making sure that nothing happens to her? That-" her voice broke and she took a shuddering breath. "That you had another option for the sacrifice that was all shiny and close-by, but you still decided to kidnap me instead?"

And that was what hurt most. That even before they had met, Elijah had decided that Elena was worth saving and Bella wasn't. She may have been dying already, but he certainly hadn't known that until Jonas had already brought her to him. Once again, Bella Swan had been judged without her knowing and was found to be not good enough.

Being chosen to die wasn't what was really upsetting her right now; she had already resigned herself to her fate. It was the fact that everyone had been lying to her about it. Bella wasn't worth saving- story of her fucking life. But the least they could have done was be honest about all of it. They could have told her that there was another doppelgänger in town that they were keeping an eye on so that they'd have a backup in case things didn't work out with her. They could have corrected her assumptions that she was the only one. Instead, they just watched her as she went about life believing that there was some sort of… some sort of reason for all the bullshit she'd suffered through. Maybe they didn't actually give a damn about her, but she'd thought they at least respected her enough to be honest with her. That they believed her to be worth at least that much.

She thought of Katherine then, with her curly hair and confident gait, seemingly able to lure others in with little more than a sultry look and a smile. Was that what Elijah wanted? Someone strong and confident, who was intelligent enough to make those around them dance to their tune with a twitch of their hips and a few well-placed quips? If so, then he wasn't who she thought he was. But what else was new? Bella thought things that were wrong and then was left scrambling as everyone else moved on.

Her hands dropped from his wrists, where she had been ineffectually pulling at his hands in order to make him let go of her. _What did it matter?_ she asked herself exhaustedly. _What did it change?_ Of course Elijah would rather save someone else. Of course he would choose another girl- one that was prettier, kinder, more outgoing, and just all around better than Bella. Why should she be mad at Elijah for making the obvious choice?

Elijah frowned as she looked down, hiding her face from him as her hands fell to her side. What was Isabella thinking? "I have my reasons for what I am doing and why," he told her, resisting the urge to turn her face upwards so that he could see her expression.

"And let me guess, I don't need to know, I shouldn't concern myself with the pesky little details, right? I'm just a human, only ranking slightly above a worthless waste of space if it wasn't for the whole body-double thing, and you're a vampire. Believe me, I get the message."

For some reason, Elijah felt a fissure of panic at her words and he gave into the urge to touch her. "No, Isabella," he started, releasing her arms to cup her cheeks. "It's not-"

Somehow managing to move under his arm and away from him in the seconds between being released and Elijah's movement, Bella made her way back to the car. "Do you want to drive?" she asked, voice carefully indifferent. "Or should I?"

He could have stopped her again, made her look at him and tell him what she was thinking, but even the thought of doing so caused him to feel disgusted with himself. It was bad enough that he had already touched her in anger, Elijah would not allow himself to begin a pattern of it. "I'll drive."

Bella slid into the passenger seat without a word, turning so that she could lean her head against the door frame. She could feel Elijah's gaze on her but she refused to acknowledge him. It was time to stop kidding herself, stop pretending that things were something other than what they actually were. Isabella Swan was Elijah Mikaelson's hostage and her current caretaker was Jonas Martin. They weren't friends. They didn't give a damn about her. Any times they had acted like the cared was just that- an act. Pretending in order to keep her compliant. She was just the moron who thought it might have been more than just an act.

As soon as Elijah had pulled up outside the apartment building, Bella jumped out of the car and strode inside. She knew it would take Elijah a minute to get Katherine out of the trunk without anyone seeing and she wanted to try and get into the apartment and hidden in her room before it became necessary for her to have to even look at him again.

Bypassing the elevator, Bella climbed up the two flights of stairs and opened the unlocked apartment door. "Bella!" Luka called from beside his father at the table. "You're back! We figured you guys were fine but still, didn't expect it to take you this long."

Shrugging, Bella said, "Elijah's bringing Katherine up with him."

Jonas frowned at her, placing a hand on Luka's shoulder to keep him from standing up and going over to Bella. "Is something wrong?"

"You'll have to ask him," Bella told him, forcing her tone to stay even. "I'll be in my room if you need me." Ignoring the confusion on both of their faces, Bella walked down the hall and into her bedroom, softly closing the door behind her. Quickly changing into a pair of sweatpants and an oversized hoodie, Bella crawled into bed and buried her face in her pillow, finally letting the tears silently fall.

* * *

Elijah stood behind Jonas, watching as he cast a spell that forced the vervain out of Katherine's system. "How long until she can be compelled?" he murmured.

"About an hour," Jonas answered shortly, feeling tense. Elijah hadn't said anything about their allowing Bella to expose herself to the Salvatore brothers and the longer the vampire stayed the quiet, the more worried the warlock became.

"So, are we just going to ignore the obvious?" Luka finally burst out, unable to take it anymore.

"Ignore what?" Elijah asked.

Luka disregarded the look his father was giving him. "The fact that Bella knows what's been going on. And that you obviously did something to upset her after I left the house."

Without warning, Luka was being slammed into a nearby wall. "You will watch how you speak to me," Elijah softly warned the teenager.

Glaring fearlessly back at the vampire, he spat, "She's not just a pawn in your game, Elijah. She's a person. She's my friend and she doesn't deserve to have an already shitty situation made worse by you."

"I wasn't the one who made things worse, you did. You told her about Elena and now things are like this; you have only yourself to blame." He released Luka, moving to go back over to Jonas.

"She said that Klaus was on his way. For your sakes, I do hope that isn't the case."

Jonas ran a hand over his face. "I got a call shortly before you both came back. I don't know how she did it, all I know is that Klaus will be arriving in Mystic Falls by the end of the week. He knows that you're here, Elijah, and he knows you have a doppelgänger in your possession. He told me to tell you that he wants to chat and that he's looking forward to meeting Bella."

 _Things tend to go smoother when you're the one holding all the cards._ That's what she'd said. Those were the first words Elijah had heard when he'd finally woken. And somehow, without any of them knowing, Bella had managed to do just that. She'd called Klaus, had told him where to find her and what to expect when he arrived, and had helped the Martin's free Elijah. Isabella Swan had apparently decided to start playing the game, but Elijah was at a loss for what ending she hoped to achieve by doing so.

 **(A/N): Hey guys! Hope you all had fantastic holidays! I am currently hiding inside away from the ice storm raging outside SO. Hope the weather is better where you all are at.**

 **Hope this lived up to your expectations! The next chapter will have Klaus finally arriving into the picture. This is Bella's game now guys so buckle in for this ride!**

 **For those of you who don't know, I posted my first ever one-shot a few weeks ago! It's another Bella/Elijah story so if you're enjoying this story, you should go on and check it out! Not gonna lie guys, I'm super proud of that story. It's almost 50 pages and is such a huge accomplishment in my book! Yeah, I'm patting myself on the back right now, not gonna lie.**

 **This chapter was betaed by the glorious Hannbells and we should all happy vibes her way!**

 **Hope you all have an amazing weekend! Please leave a review on the way out!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Just a heads up, there are some song lyrics in this chapter. Not the entire song because I felt like it would be too much and not fit right, but a few lines from it. The song is called "Doomed" by Bring Me The Horizon and I highly recommend it because it gives all the feels for Bella and Elijah's relationship right now. Also, Klaus makes a comment about a line that I didn't give so there may be some confusion. I just wanted to clarify beforehand in case anyone wants to listen to the song for some context. The actual author's note is at the bottom, as per usual. Enjoy!**

* * *

Bella and Elijah sat side by side in a booth at the Grill waiting for Klaus to make an appearance. Despite his many attempts to speak to her, Bella refused to even look him. It had been that way since they had returned from the Salvatore's home. The only person she would acknowledge now was Luka, and they mostly just stayed hidden away in her room. Jonas apparently understood her need for distance and never pressed her, though Elijah had spotted a sad look in the other man's eyes whenever he looked at her closed door.

Despite the low din of chatter surrounding them, Elijah was able to hear the low notes of music coming from Bella's headphones. She had swiped Luka's iPod before they left and had turned it on the moment they were seated, knowing that Elijah wouldn't have stood for it if she'd tried to ignore him to that degree on the drive over. The same song had been playing on repeat the last 15 minutes, and Elijah couldn't help feeling slightly uncomfortable with the lyrics.

 _Cut off my wings and come lock me up_

 _Just pull the plug, yeah, I've had enough_

 _Tear me to pieces, sell me for parts,_

 _You're all vampires so here_

 _You can have my heart_

She'd been able to sense his gaze on her the entire time they were here and had felt him shift randomly once or twice. Bella didn't know why Elijah had felt the need to sit so close to her, his left side pressed up against her right and his arm thrown over the back of the booth above her shoulders. It made her feel slightly claustrophobic, like he was pinning her in, and she forced herself to just focus on the music. It was lucky for her that she had Luka had similar tastes.

 _The world's a funeral, a room of ghosts_

 _No hint of movement, no sign of pulse_

 _Only an echo, just skin and bone_

 _They kicked the chair but we, we helped tie the rope_

Now that her death was truly imminent, Bella found herself growing more and more detached from the world around her. Nothing truly mattered at this point. Maybe some people would have had a different response to such a looming expiration date, gone out and tried to make amends or do something to make sure that everyone they loved had closure. Bella didn't see the point to that though; how would a teary goodbye conversation help anything? Besides that, how many people would legitimately miss her when she was gone? Charlie had gone years without regularly speaking to her, just the sporadic phone call on birthdays and holidays. She'd pulled away from her friends in Forks right after the Cullen's had left, so that was already over and done with. Her mom had Phil and had already shown that Bella wasn't necessary anymore. The only one who would probably actually miss her at this point was Luka, and there was nothing she could do about that now. If Bella had known how sweet and amazing Luka was, she might have tried harder to avoid him; she knew how hard her death was going to be for him. Too late now though.

 _So come rain on my parade_

' _Cause I wanna feel it_

 _Come shove me over the edge_

' _Cause my head is in overdrive_

Elijah could feel the moment his brother entered the bar. He had expected Niklaus to be a little late, his brother always loved to make a scene, but what he hadn't expected was to see Niklaus' cold smirk on Alaric Saltzman's face. "I should have expected something like this," he muttered. The song caught his ear again and he couldn't help but despair at the truth woven through the lyrics.

 _I'm sorry but it's too late_

 _And it's not worth saving_

 _So come rain on my parade_

 _I think we're doomed_

 _I think we're doomed_

 _And now there's no way back_

Bella glanced over as someone slid into the seat across from them. She frowned at the man, one she had seen in the pictures Jonas and Luka had shown of her who she might have encountered when confronting the Salvatore's. It was as she was about to ask him if he wanted anything that Bella actually met his gaze and froze. Bella didn't know how, but she instinctively knew that it was someone else wearing Alaric's skin, and she turned off her music and popped out her earbuds. His eyes were oddly familiar…

"Hello, Brother," he greeted Elijah.

"Niklaus," Elijah answered, tone bland. "Still up to your old tricks I see."

"I could say the same about you." Klaus studied Bella. "So, this is the doppelgänger. I must say, you are not what I was expecting."

"I could say the same about you," she mocked, straightening up. "What, out of all the bodies in town, you decided on the local history teacher as your top pick?"

His smirk took on a malicious edge. "You always did prefer the ones with a bit of fire in them, Elijah." Klaus' gaze flickered back to his brother. "Leave us," he ordered.

She hadn't thought it would be possible for Elijah to get any tenser but he somehow managed. "If you think that you are the one calling the shots here," he began.

"Actually, I was under the impression that little Isabella was the one in charge here," Klaus sneered. "Since she is the one that called me. Don't worry though, after I'm done speaking with her, I have a few things I'd like to discuss with you."

Bella groaned. "For the love of god." Once they were both looking at her, she continued. "If you're both done with your pissing contest, then could we please get on with this? Elijah, we are in a crowded bar. If you're that concerned, then take a seat over by the door so that you can see keep an eye on us. I have something to ask Klaus about too, and I don't need you hovering over my shoulder the entire time."

Elijah's eyes tightened slightly and if she didn't know better, she might have thought she'd hurt him. Even if she had been able to though, Bella wasn't sure she'd have cared at this point.

"Interesting choice is music," Klaus commented as Elijah walked away. Bella raised a brow and waited from him to get to the point. "I wouldn't worry too much; I guarantee that, when it's time for you to play the sacrificial lamb, you won't be cheated out of dying by my hand."

Bella snorted. "That's the hope. And yet, it's also something that I feel like I've had difficultly achieving."

"Dying?" he asked, tilting his head slightly and narrowing his eyes at her.

"Staying dead."

Klaus sat back. "A doppelgänger with a death wish? I mean, I feel like most doppelgängers subconsciously court death, which is why all of them are so idiotic, but for one to openly acknowledge their desire to die? How ideal."

"What can I say, I live to make things easier for you."

"And how I appreciate it." He pulled a small box out of his pocket and set it on the table, fiddling with someone on the side before speaking. "This device will keep any unwanted listeners from hearing what we are to discuss."

Bella relaxed into her seat. "That's handy. Guess that's why you're considered the ultimate big-bad."

"No, love. I'm considered that because I am- I am the worst thing you or anyone else are likely to encounter. Which is why your decision to call me leaves me so puzzled; if you wanted to die, there are easier ways to go about it. Clever though, using Greta to reach out to me."

"You're right, there are easier ways. Especially since, if I were to just wait around for a few weeks at most, I would drop dead soon enough." Klaus' brows furrowed and she smirked. "Brain tumor. Seems like the universe really wants me dead so I've decided I'm done trying to fight the inevitable."

"And your decision to actively help me break my curse comes from a place of what, good intentions?" Klaus sneered. "Or did someone make you a promise that is the real enticement for your actions?"

She sighed. "No one made me any promises, but it was implied that you were someone who could, occasionally, be negotiated with."

He snorted. "You don't really have much to bargain with now that you're sitting right in from of me, ripe for the taking."

"Negotiate was the wrong term. I guess… I was told that dying by your hands doesn't necessarily have to be painful."

Blinking at her, Klaus slowly answered, "It doesn't."

Bella started to fiddle with a paper napkin, slowly tearing it into shreds. "I don't know how much you actually know about brain tumors, but they're super painful and the whole dying by them bit is a needlessly agonizing experience. Even if you did decide to kill me all sadistic-like, it would still probably be quicker, but I figured my chances at a relatively pain-free death would dramatically increase if I went to you instead of waiting around for others to get their acts together."

"You called me, told me where you and all the other items I'll need for the ritual were, because you wanted me to kill you quickly and with as little suffering as possible?" She couldn't really blame him for doubting her; in his thousand years of living, it was unlikely he'd found many of the people he needed dead very easy-going about their fates.

"If I'm going to die no matter what, I should at least get a say in how I go. I think I deserve that much."

Klaus snorted. "And I'm supposed to believe that's all you want? No attempts to get yourself turned into a vampire? No bartering for the safety of your friends and family?"

"I've been told that the brain tumor won't allow me to be turned, and I don't really have any friends. Sure, I don't want you to hurt my family, but I'm also assuming you'll have better things to do after the ritual is done than go hunt down an insignificant girl's parents once she's already bitten the dust." Bella wondered just what sort of morons he had previously been dealing with.

Apparently some hardcore ones, considering the doubt still clearly displayed on his face. "How did my brother find you? I would have thought he'd be more concerned with tracking down the Petrova line so he could hopefully find his precious Katerina." Bella tensed at that and a touch of glee lit up Klaus' eyes. "I see I've touched a nerve. I do hope you weren't carrying a torch for my dear older brother, because I can guarantee there's no happy ending in store for either of you, let alone the two of you combined."

She had to consciously force herself to unclench her jaw. "Oh, he found her alright- she's currently locked in one of the rooms at the apartment. No need for you to bother yourself with looking out for little old me- believe me when I say, I know the score. The only reason he was searching for me is because he wanted to have all his bases covered; as you know, he's very protective of Tatia's doppelgängers so of course he would want find an alternative to killing one of them."

"How fortunate for him, then, that he managed to stumble across someone already ready for death."

She snorted. "Don't kid yourself, Klaus. I would have been used even if I weren't already dying. He didn't know about my condition before he took me; figuring out about it afterwards was probably just a bonus."

He couldn't help smirking at her nerve. "Bold of you to be so familiar with a strange man you've never met."

"Well, you will probably be killing me soon. Figured that afforded us a certain level of intimacy." There was that glint in his eyes that Bella felt like she was familiar with and she reflexively scowled at him. "Not that intimate. I'm not one of those girls mourning the idea of dying a virgin- I don't put out that easily."

Klaus obnoxiously leered at her. "I must say, I'm surprised that some whey-faced boy hasn't snapped you up already."

"It's called standards, Klaus, something you are clearly unfamiliar with," Bella sassed then froze, a sense of déjà vu washing over her. She remembered this. She'd done this. When though? When had this happened? The thought was there but she couldn't touch it, as though it was on the other side of an ice wall and she was scrambling on the other side of it.

"What's wrong?" he asked, having caught the odd look in his eyes.

Bella's hands came up to clutch at either side of her head. "I don't know. I don't know, I don't know, _I don't know."_

Elijah was at her side a second later. "Isabella," he murmured, sliding in next to her and covering her hands with his. "What's wrong?"

There was nothing there except for a name and Elijah and Klaus stiffened in surprise at her whisper. "Kol."

* * *

"Why the hell is she asking for our brother?" Klaus spat at Elijah after Bella had been whisked away by a teenage boy. The two siblings had left the Grill, moving their discussion to a forest on the outskirts of town.

"I am unsure," Elijah murmured. "I don't believe that even Isabella understands what is happening. Unfortunately, the only person who might have been able to answer our questions is dead," he sneered at his younger brother. The mention of their youngest brother, and the reminder of what had happened to all of their siblings, had sent Elijah's already strained temper into a complete spiral.

"And has been for decades," Klaus retorted. "So, how does the little human know about him? Unless this is some ploy of yours; though I can't imagine to what end you are hoping to accomplish with it."

Moving to stand directly in front of Niklaus, Elijah snarled, "I am not the one who makes a habit of playing games with people by using innocents; those monstrous actions belong to you and you alone."

"Yes," he sneered. "Noble Elijah, protector of the innocent. Unless their sacrifice could be used to your benefit, then you're eager to throw them off as quickly as possible."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"Little Isabella informed me of how you sought her out in an attempt to spare any more doppelgängers in the Petrova line. How convenient for you that you managed to stumble upon a girl already marked for death. Allows you to keep that holier than thou attitude of yours while still managing to accomplish what you came for." Klaus shoved Elijah then, throwing him into a large tree.

Elijah quickly stood, swallowing down the pain that Niklaus' accusation had caused. Was that truly what Isabella thought of him? "What is it you plan on doing now that you're here, Niklaus?"

"Well, Brother, I plan on doing what I have been trying to accomplish for the last thousand years- I am going to break the curse you helped place on me."

"You blame me for what happened to you? That's fair, I did betray you. But our siblings did not! If you wanted revenge for the curse being placed on you, then why kill them instead of coming after me?"

Klaus' eyes flashed. "That's for me to know, Elijah. What you should be concerning yourself with is making sure Isabella lives long enough for her to be used in the sacrifice. Wouldn't want to have use your precious Elena Gilbert, now would we?" Spotting the way Elijah stiffened, Klaus smiled. "Oh yes, I am well aware of this towns current inhabitants. Funny, isn't it, how the Petrova doppelgänger line returned to where it all began for us? It would be almost poetic to kill Elena, to be able to break my curse in the very spot it was cast.

"And I promise you, Brother, that should you attempt to fight me any more than you already have, I will go ahead and use the Gilbert girl you've apparently already grown fond of in the ritual. One way or another, I will free myself from this curse before the end of the week. Unfortunately for you, any say you have in how I go about doing so is gone. So sit back, relax, and watch as it all plays out. It's going to be an unforgettable show."

* * *

Bella sat curled up in the chair by the window in her room, staring blankly ahead.

 _Kol._

She felt like she had been trying to remember that name her entire life, she just hadn't known it. And she knew it was a name, a name belonging to a boy, but she didn't know how she knew. Now that it was there though, it was turning itself into an itch that she couldn't quite scratch. Who was he? Who was Kol?

For some reason, she felt like the name had something to do with her dreams. There was a connection there that she just couldn't see. Was he someone who had been in her one of her recent nightmares? That didn't make sense to her, because Bella remembered all her dreams, couldn't forget the details if she tried. The horribleness was there for her to relive all through the day before a new fear made itself known overnight. So why would the memory of Kol be blocked out when nothing else was?

Elijah and Klaus had recognized the name, that much was clear to her, and it had shocked them to hear it coming from her. How did they know him? Again though, how did she? Bella knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she'd heard that name before, had spoken it herself, but there was nothing else.

There was nothing else and that nothingness made her want to sob, caused an agony to rip through her that even the Cullen's abandonment hadn't forced her to suffer through. It had been there, the memory of him had been in her head, and now it wasn't. He'd been ripped away, and she didn't know why. Why was he gone and why did it hurt and _why why why why why why-_

"Bella." Luka was kneeling in front of her, a hand on her knee. "Bella, you need to eat, okay?" Once he was sure he had her attention, Luka continued with a hesitant smile. "I promise not to ask you any questions if you promise to eat something. Deal?"

Forcing a smile on her face, Bella nodded. She didn't know why he bothered asking though, it wasn't like she actually had a choice. Taking the bowl of ravioli from him, Bella relaxed her legs so her feet were resting on the floor, and she began to mechanically eat.

Luka settled on the floor, leaning back against the wall next to the window. "Gotta say, Bells, I had no idea you were so ballsy."

"That's me," she sighed. "Go big or go home, right?"

" _Chin up, darling. It'll all feel a little brighter once the night passes."_

" _Considering the fact that you are a creature of the night, should you really be spouting off that particular piece of wisdom?"_

That was the final straw. Bella threw the bowl across the room, and it shattered against the wall. "Why?!" she sobbed, almost doubled over in pain. "I can hear his voice in my head and there's an ache in my chest from how badly I miss him but that's it, that's all there is. I need him and I miss him and he's gone and I can't even remember his face."

Snapping out of the frozen state of shock he'd been in at the sound of the bowl breaking, Luka shifted onto his knees and pulled her into his arms. "Whose voice can you hear, Bella? Who are you missing?"

"I don't know," she moaned. "I don't know, I don't know. Luka, please, what's happening to me?"

He tightened his arms around her. "I don't know how to help you," Luka admitted. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what's going on."

"I just… I don't want to be like this, Luka. I don't want to feel like this."

Unnoticed by either of them, Elijah leaned against the doorway. He closed his eyes briefly at her words, feeling the weight of his thousand years of living more than he had an any moment previously.

Niklaus was right- he was the greatest liar of them all.

 **(A/N): So here's my actual note! Hello everyone! Hope your February is going well! If it's not, well at least it's almost over, right? As I write to you, a blizzard is happening outside and it's our second snowstorm this week so that's how my month is going. Hope it's better where you all are at!**

 **And here it is! Klaus has arrived! I know you all were very excited about it and I look forward to hearing your thoughts! It's almost time though guys! It looks like Chapter 11 is going to be _the_ chapter, the one where it all ends for Bella. (wink)**

 **Hopefully I'm going to be able to get more writing done here soon because I'm going to start having more time off soon by the end of this week and I am beyond ready for that.**

 **This chapter was betaed by Hannbells and much gratitude is being sent her way!**

 **Hope you all have a great weekend! Please leave a review on the way out!**


	10. Chapter 10

"My god," complained Klaus the moment he walked through the Martin's front door the next day. "I forgot just how boring teenagers could be."

"Really?" asked Bella, sitting on the couch engaged in a staring contest with Maddox. "It's something I fear I'll never be able to forget. The knowledge will haunt me into the beyond."

"Ah, see, there's your mistake. Always better to be the one doing the haunting than to be the one haunted, everyone knows that." Silently moving behind Bella, he leaned over the back of the couch to breathe in her ear, "And what, exactly, are you two up to?"

Bella jumped, almost falling off the couch. "Damnit, Klaus," she swore and Maddox smirked slightly. "That is a human body, why are you still so vampire-like?"

"I'm just amazing like that," he smirked. "Did you behave yourself while I was away?"

"Behave myself," she scoffed. "What exactly did you think I was going to get up to? Not exactly wild times ahead for the dead-girl-walking."

"Ah, but being a dead-girl-walking, as you put it, means you no longer have to worry about that pesky mortality thing."

"When you say things like that, Klaus," Bella began with a dramatic sigh, "It makes me feel like you could care less about my health and longevity. It hurts."

Klaus snorted. "God forbid I make it seem like I don't care about you living to a ripe old age." Turning to look at Maddox, he raised an eyebrow, silently asking if Bella was being honest about their day. Maddox just nodded slightly, letting him know that all was well, and Klaus turned back to Bella. "Don't suppose you've seen Elijah around, have you?"

"Nope," Bella stated, a brief something flittering in her eyes before disappearing as rapidly as it appeared. "He has been scarce as of late."

"I know, I feel like he's been avoiding me."

"Or he's avoiding Katherine," she offered.

That was definitely a possibility. The elder doppelgänger had, loudly, made her displeasure about her current accommodations- magically locked in the kitchen pantry- known once she was sure neither Mikaelson brother was nearby. Klaus smirked, entertained by the idea that his older brother was going out of his way to avoid the girl he'd been so desperate to save all those years ago. "Whatever his reason, it is unacceptable of him to leave a lovely young lady such as yourself all alone with only a stiff like Maddox as company."

She glared at him. "I'm already dying for you, what else could you possibly want from me?"

"Why, the pleasure of your company, of course. Grab your coat- we're going out."

* * *

"Alright, Klaus," Bella sighed, shoving her hands deeper into her jacket pockets and leaning back into her seat. "What are you really after?"

Klaus glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "Nothing too strenuous, just wanted a chat without having to worry about anyone overhearing."

Resting her head on the passenger window, Bella let her eyes drift shut. "What do you want to know?"

There were so many things, but one question stood out the most to Klaus. "What exactly is my brother planning?"

"Why on earth would you think I'd be of any help there? Pretty sure we've already established that Elijah wasn't really big on open communication with me."

"Ah, you and I know that, while he might have been less-than-forthcoming on the truth about doppelgängers, he would have been eager to justify why your death was necessary. So, I recommend you tell me what he's planning or else-"

"Or else what?" Bella snapped, turning to face him head-on. "I'm already dying, it's already going to be painful, and I'm literally all alone here. What are you going to do to me that could possibly be worse than what I've already experienced? Already dying, man- I've already lost."

When she saw his eyes flash, Bella knew she might have pushed too far. "Last I checked, you still cared about young Luka Martin," Klaus sneered. "It would be a shame if something were to befall him now."

Groaning, Bella covered her eyes with her hands. "God, what do you people want from me?! You want to know what Elijah wants? He wants his family back. He wants his siblings alive and well and around him and he thinks he's never going to get that because you killed them. Which is just the stupidest thing I've ever heard because there's not a snowballs chance in Hell that you actually killed them and I don't know why he hasn't realized that himself."

Klaus blinked at her. "What makes you say that?"

"Outside of the fact that, if you were going to snap and murder your family spontaneously, you would have done it hundreds of years ago? Control. You are clearly a control freak and there's no way you'd ever give up the bargaining chip your siblings provide before you absolutely have to."

He pulled into the parking lot of a random playground and abruptly stopped the car, turning to gap at the slip of a human girl. "How the hell did you work all that out?!"

"It's called critical thinking, you vampires should try it sometime." Unbuckling her seatbelt, Bella climbed out of her seat and headed to a nearby picnic table, Klaus hot on her heels. Stepping onto the wooden seat, Bella plopped down onto the worn table top and stared blankly at the handful of children running around on the equipment. "Why did you lie to him?"

Sitting down next to her on the wooden slab, Klaus also studied the humans populating the park. "Just because you say that I was being dishonest, doesn't make it so. Perhaps, one day, I just snapped. Things happen without our say-so, as you of all people well know."

"They're not dead," Bella repeated, voice still sure. "You told Elijah that they were because you wanted to push him away. What I can't begin to fathom is just what was so bad that it forced you to tell a lie that would make Elijah leave you."

Klaus clasped his hands together on his knees, white knuckles the only sign of the tension running through him. "And what did my brother say when you brought your suspicions to him?"

"I didn't, and I don't plan on doing so anytime soon." She could feel Klaus' surprised gaze on the side of her face and she smiled faintly. "You have your reasons. I'm just going to assume that those reasons are really good and leave it at that. This isn't any of my business and, to be honest, I think Elijah would have to hear the words from you himself in order for him to even contemplate the idea that your other siblings aren't dead. My word won't mean anything."

"You really are a strange girl," was all Klaus said after a minute.

"It'd be pretty boring if I was normal." Taking a deep breath, Bella blurted out, "Who's Kol?"

Seemingly expecting the question, Klaus simply answered, "My younger brother."

Turning to look at him, Bella carefully watched his expression as she asked, "Why is your brother in my head? Why is his name there, but not his face?"

"Couldn't just ask how you knew him? Would have gotten you to the same point with much less words." Glancing down, Klaus studied the hunter's calloused hands. Considering his only friend was a vampire, Alaric clearly couldn't be that good of hunter, so he wondered where the worn feeling to his hands came from. "I have no idea how you know him, but I am also very curious to find out the answer to that myself."

"Think you're working up against the clock there, buddy."

Klaus abruptly changed the subject. "Why are you really doing this?" Bella made a soft hum of confusion and Klaus continued. "You're surrounded by the supernatural, by warlocks, yet you've embraced the idea of death without hesitation. You haven't looked for another way out, checked to see if there's some magical spell that could save you, just submitted to the inevitable. Why?"

Giving herself a moment to collect her thoughts, Bella finally gave up trying to find an eloquent way of explaining herself and just went with what she was thinking. "Because I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to fight the inevitable. It's like I turned seventeen and everything went to hell. I've nearly died so many times this last year. I ran into a vampire who said I was his singer and that he had to restrain himself from draining me dry every moment I was in his presence, I was nearly run down in the school parking lot, I stumbled into a group of nomads who decided I was the best prey they could find, was nearly drained in a ballet studio in Phoenix and ended up walking away from that with a broken leg, ribs, and most of the blood emptied out of my body, almost got eaten again on my eighteenth birthday but instead was only thrown into a table full of glass plates, and then nearly died of hypothermia in the woods a few days later. A month after that, the tumor was found and I thought that was it, that was the end of that. I got the message the universe was trying to send me. And if I'd had any doubts, my introduction to Elijah really just hammered in the point."

When she put it like that, Klaus could see the point she was trying to make. "And there's nothing out there, nothing that you think is worth living for?"

She didn't even hesitate. "No, there isn't. Don't get me wrong, there are people I love and am going to miss- my father and Luka to name a few- but… I feel like… I feel like there's something waiting on the Other Side for me and if I ever want to find any answers, find any peace, I need to go there and search myself."

Klaus turned to her sharply. "What do you know about the Other Side?"

Slowly turning her head to look at him, Bella stared at him, eyes lost and unfocused. "I know it's where I'm supposed to go. That there's something out there trying to push me into the void but there's also something there trying to stop me from falling. It's no use though- what will be, will be. There's no fighting fate."

"What do you see?" Klaus asked softly, realizing that Bella was somewhere else now.

Bella blinked, abruptly coming back to herself. "See what?"

He almost groaned in annoyance but forced himself to appear calm. Klaus was growing more and more sure that there was something off about Bella, something that made her different from Katherine and, though he had only met her briefly, from Elena. No wonder his brother was not-so-secretly fascinated.

Shifting around uncomfortably for a moment, Bella finally forced the question burning her throat out. "When will you be completing the ritual?"

Finally meeting her gaze, Klaus answered, "This Saturday."

"Figures," Bella snorted. "I thought that'd be your answer, but I wanted to know for sure. It's fine- more than fine. No point in dragging this out needlessly."

"Yes, well, that was my thought. Plus, who knows how much longer the Elijah's blood will be effective."

It was silent for a moment, Bella frozen in shock and Klaus eagerly anticipating her reaction. "What?" Bella finally gasped.

"You didn't know? My, Elijah really was keeping you in the dark, wasn't he?"

"That's enough, Niklaus." The man in question appeared beside the pair, face impassive except for the embers of rage kindled in his eyes.

"Come now, Elijah. She's already dying, does she not yet deserve the full story? How much longer did you plan to keep her in the dark? What were you planning to say when she suddenly fell ill again, worse than ever before, in the next few days?"

Bella took a deep, shuddering breath. "Elijah?" Her voice was so pathetic and she hated it, despised herself more with every second that passed as she waited for the Original to look at her.

Slowly, reluctantly, Elijah met her bewildered gaze. "It was the only way to help ease your symptoms. You would have died too soon after I had found you if something wasn't done."

"Why not tell me that? Why all the secrecy?"

"Because I am aware of how uncomfortable you are with blood and thought that the knowledge that you were ingesting it daily in order to stay healthy would cause you unnecessary discomfort."

She was thrown by his answer. She would have thought he'd tell her that it was needed to know information and Bella clearly didn't need to know, as had been the case with everything else he'd hidden from her. If she didn't know better, Bella would think that Elijah had been trying to look out for her.

For some reason, the memory of the clothes he had bought her weeks ago when she'd first arrived popped into her head. There had been all the basics in there, but the items that had caught her most off-guard were a pair of super soft and comfortable sweatpants, a plush sweatshirt, and several sets of warm, fuzzy socks. Items that Bella loved to wear around the house, to stay curled up in whenever she wasn't feeling well, and Elijah had somehow known that and provided them for her.

Maybe, _maybe,_ Elijah was low-key trying to make things easier for her. Nothing big, nothing that could possibly jeopardize his own plans, but something nonetheless.

It didn't change anything, didn't change the jaggedness that infected their interactions, but it was something to keep in mind.

"So ingesting vampire blood helps with illnesses and injuries?" she verified.

"Some, but not all," Klaus answered, seeming slightly disappointed that her reaction wasn't more dramatic.

"Alright. Just gonna brush past the queries about how you all figured out that particular nugget of information. If it's been working this far, why would you guys think it'll fail in the next few days?"

Elijah's eyes closed briefly and he gave an almost inaudible sigh. "We will have to stop giving you vampire blood two days before the day of the ritual- so Wednesday will be the last day you receive another dosage."

Her lips quirked. "Dosage. Heh. Trying to fancy it up by making it sound like medicine. Why stop so soon? Will having your blood in my system mess up the ritual?"

"In a way." The smirk Niklaus shot him told Elijah that if he didn't explain, his brother was sure to do so in the most hurtful way he could think of. "Were you to die with vampire blood in your system, you would come back to life as a vampire. However, because of the brain tumor, your time as one of us would be short and extremely painful."

Well, there was one question answered. "So, the stories were right when it came to your kind of vampire: a person has to die with vampire blood in their system in order to transition." That would probably prevent anyone from being turned accidentally, unlike with Cold Ones since that's what happened to Carlisle, but it felt more personal to Bella, more intimate. Having someone else's blood in your system when you died, then having that blood coursing through you and changing your genetic make-up until you were a vampire… forever bonded through that blood. Just imagining it caused a shiver to run down Bella's spine.

Being tied by blood was far deeper than being tied together through venom. Venom was an unnatural add-on to being a Cold One. Blood was life.

"The stories do, occasionally, get it right," Klaus commented, standing up and stretching. "Well, as much fun as this has been, I think I'll leave you with Elijah now. Greta should be here by now with my body and I'm eager to rid myself of the stain of humanity."

"You're releasing Alaric's body? Just like that?" Elijah eyed his brother dubiously.

"Well, not just like that," Klaus smirked. "After all, I haven't properly announced my arrival into town, now have I?"

* * *

Elijah escorted Isabella to his car, hand resting gently on her lower back. "Are you alright?" he asked her softly, opening the passenger door for her. "I know Niklaus can be rather… overbearing to those who don't know him well. And to those who do know him, if I'm being honest."

"I'm fine," she answered, sitting down and staring blankly ahead. "He was just trying to get a better feel for me. Guess he wants to know how much of a hassle I'm going to be."

Quietly closing her door, Elijah walked around to his side of the car and slid in, turning on the car and letting it idle for a moment as they both gathered their thoughts. "It's difficult."

Bella turned slightly to be able to see his profile. "Difficult?"

Shifting so the he could fully look at her, Elijah smiled wryly. "Yes, difficult. I want to push you because I know you're not being honest with me, yet I'm also aware of how hypocritical that would be."

"You're not wrong," Bella muttered, leaning her head back. Studying Elijah intently for a moment, she suddenly asked, "Have you ever been in love?"

"Pardon?" Elijah raised his eyebrows slightly at her daring.

"You don't have to answer, I just… I don't think I ever have been." Bella bit her bottom lip, looking away from the Original. "I haven't and I just wondered if you ever had."

"Why?"

"Because then you could tell me, is it worth it? Was it worth it, in the past, to have loved someone even if you lost them in the end? To have had what time you were able to have with them? Or would it have been easier if you had never known them?"

Elijah watched her carefully, considering his words. "I have only ever loved two women in my life," he finally told her. "I… have trouble letting people in. But though I lost both women far too soon, I don't regret the time I spent with them." Isabella said nothing in response, just continued to sit and stare out the window, blinking rapidly. Elijah took the chance to ask a question of his own. "Have you remembered anything more about Kol?"

Bella flinched. "No, not really. I just know… I just know that he mattered. He mattered and I left him and maybe it wasn't a romantic love that we shared, but it was special and precious and I broke it. I know I left him and I'll never forgive myself for that." She allowed the tears to fall as she met Elijah's softened gaze. "Isn't it funny? I don't have many memories of him, of our time together, but I still hurt from it. I hurt now because I hurt him then, but I don't even remember exactly how I did it, I just know that there's no forgiveness, no absolution. I'll never be able to give back what I took from him."

Clenching his jaw, Elijah tried to figure out a way to help ease her grief. "Kol is our brother, Niklaus' and I's. When I was first in your mind, I witnessed you remembering a meeting that took place between the two of you. It took a moment for me to place when it was but, once I had, I understood why things turned out with Kol the way they did. After you were murdered, my brother lost his way. He became violent and cruel in his pain of losing you. My brother may have done many things after your demise, but the one thing he never did is blame you- I promise you that."

A sob forced its way out of her and Bella tilted her head back, desperately trying to regain control of herself. Elijah reached out a hand, brushing away a few of her tears, before pulling back and removing a handkerchief from his suit pocket and handing it to her. "It hurts," she admitted with another sob. "It hurts to know that he was in pain because of me. And it hurts even more to know that I won't even be able to remember just what he had to be sad about. I'll never be able to take on those memories of us, the ones he was forced to carry alone."

"You will see him again," Elijah told her softly, infinitely gentle. "He'll be waiting for you on the Other Side."

Bella gave a choked laugh. "Can they see us right now, our loved ones on the Other Side? Are they able to watch us? Has Kol been watching as I lived my life without once remembering him, until it's the end and it's too late?" Even though she knew that Kol wasn't on the Other Side, that Klaus hadn't killed him, even just the idea that he could have been watching her go about a life without him with ease burned.

"Isabella-" Elijah reached out.

"It doesn't matter," she quickly cut him off, twisting his handkerchief between her fingers. "I'm going to have to face the music eventually and to be honest, I think for sure knowing what I'm going to face will just freak me out more."

Elijah sighed. "From what I have seen, Isabella, you're capable of handling yourself under extreme pressure. I have total faith that, no matter what happens, you will face it with grace."

She huffed. "Dying gracefully, that's the dream right there." Taking a deep breath, Bella finally whispered, "Aren't doppelgängers just lookalikes? They're not the same person just being born on repeat obviously because of Katherine, they just share some bits of DNA and are unfortunate mirror images of other people, right?" At Elijah's nod, her lips pursed. "This isn't doppelgänger related then, is it? There's something else going on, happening inside my head. That's why I know about Kol, or however you want to describe it. How fucked up do I have to be that I can't even manage to be a _normal_ doppelgänger?"

Putting the car into reverse, Elijah quickly exited the parking lot and started down the street, thoughts racing. After a moment, an idea came to him and gazed over at Isabella from the corner of his eye. She'd been so quiet, so distant, as of late and while he couldn't blame her, Elijah couldn't help wanting to do something to help return them to the easiness that had existed between the two of them previously. He also wanted to give her one last happy memory to hold onto in the coming days.

Abruptly pulling the car into the Grill parking lot, he parked in a spot close to the door.

"What are we doing here?" Isabella croaked, wiping away the last of her tears.

"Picking up supplies," Elijah answered, stepping out of the car and walking quickly over to the passenger side and opening the door.

"It's like pulling teeth with you," she complained, slowly accepting his offered hand and allowing him to help her up. "Supplies for what?"

"As I'm sure you are aware, my people were well known for their drinking habits." He pulled open to door to the Grill, allowing Isabella to step in ahead of him before following close behind her, resting a hand on her back. "It was tradition for my people to have a celebration the eve before a great battle and get as drunk as possible, since alcohol was considered a divine drink and consuming it would allow a greater connection with the Gods. I thought it one tradition you might enjoy practicing."

Isabella turned to him, eyebrows raised in surprise. "You want to get me drunk? What, aren't I compliant enough for you?"

He smiled slightly at her teasing tone. "There's always room for improvement," he responded with a small smirk. "But, from what you've said, I doubt you've had many chances to drink with a police chief father and since this is one rite of passage I can help you with, I decided we should get the necessary supplies."

Leading them over to the bar, Elijah quickly compelled the bartender to bring them several bottles of a variety of high-quality alcohol.

"Well, well, look who's finally mingling with the lesser beings."

Elijah stiffened as Isabella turned to see Damon sitting a bit further along down the bar, a smirking Niklaus beside him. From how comfortable Damon appeared, it seemed as though he hadn't realized that it wasn't his friend Alaric next to him and Elijah wondered just what his younger brother was planning.

"Yeah, we're slumming it right now," Isabella responded dryly. "But look at you, braving the big bad world. I must say, I didn't think you'd be so daring after you and your brother's… memorable exit the last time we met."

"Yes, I underestimated you- my bad." Damon held up his glass in a mocking toast. "Here's hoping we can all live the rest of our lives with a little more dignity than previously shown. Well, those of us without a standing execution date."

Rage bled into Elijah's gaze and Damon stiffened slightly at the sight, not noticing the way the man behind him was glaring at him. Isabella just laughed. "At least when I die, I won't be going out with a stupid look on my face- something that, from what I've heard, you can't also claim. Dying in a stately manner was apparently not something you felt capable of doing, huh?"

"Oh," Damon sneered, shifting slightly, "and what would you know about it?"

"More than you'd like." Turning dismissively away from the younger vampire once the bartender had returned, Isabella stared up at Elijah. "Ready to go?"

Staring down at her, Elijah felt something tighten in his chest before he instinctively pushed it back down. That road never led to anything good. "Of course." Glancing back at Damon and Niklaus, he gave a sharply polite smile. "Until next time, gentlemen." Wrapping his arm around Isabella, Elijah quickly escorted her from the Grill. She gave him a questioning glance but didn't try to pull away from him, and a small part of Elijah rejoiced at even that tiny show of trust.

He knew it was far more than he deserved, but Elijah would take what he could get while he still could.

* * *

 **(A/N): Hey guys! How's it going? It's been a bit, I know, but I've been pretty busy lately. Life- and other fics- have been keeping me occupied but I promise you, I haven't forgotten about this story. The next chapter is going to be super long by the way. I can't give any sort of estimate for the next update but hopefully it won't be too long?**

 **Gratitudes to Hannbells for beta reading this for me!**

 **Thank you for reading this! Hope you have a great weekend!**

 **Please leave a review on the way out!**


	11. Chapter 11

**5 Days Before the Sacrifice**

"You _faint_ at the smell of blood?" Klaus' delight was clear to see by everyone in the room and Bella scowled at him.

"Why? Why does every vampire respond like that? And I don't just spot some blood and collapse into a puddle on the floor; I only faint occasionally."

"How occasionally?" Maddox asked, also seeming amused.

"Oh, I'm sorry, are you speaking now? I thought you were honing your skills in the Quiet Game," Bella snarked.

"You must admit, love," Klaus started, still grinning wickedly, "Considering what a vampire-magnet you are, it's rather ironic that what smells like a fine, delicate wine to us smells so awful to you that you collapse."

"Do all male vampires think it's a compliment, comparing your blood to wine or ambrosia or whatever liquid catches their fancy?" Bella asked Elijah. "Because I gotta say, being on the receiving end of such comments is not that great. I mean, that is literally the equivalent of me going up to a guy and trying to flirt by telling him he smells like a batch of chocolate chip cookies."

Greta snorted as she walked into the room. "Like that would ever happen. Count yourself lucky if you can just find a guy who doesn't smell like BO."

"Thank god," Bella cried dramatically. "You have returned! The amount of testosterone in this room is getting to be overwhelming."

Glancing pointedly at the empty glass in Bella's hand and then at the bottles of liquor on the table in front of them, Greta asked, "How much have you had to drink?"

Bella frowned down at the cup, as though just remembering that she was holding it. "I don't know." She looked back up at the other girl. "That's not a great sign, is it?"

Klaus cleared his throat loudly then. "Hate to interrupt," he said obnoxiously to Greta as he stood up, "but I'm guess you're here to tell me that the spell is ready?"

Straightening up slightly, Greta smiled at the Original. "Of course. I'm ready whenever you are."

"If you'll excuse us then," Klaus told Bella and Elijah as Maddox stood to join him and Greta. "We'll be back in a bit."

"Take your time," Elijah murmured, sipping from his glass.

"Alone at last," Bella joked once the others left the room. "Huh. We actually are alone. Where's Jonas and Luka?"

"I believe they're at the library," he answered, leaning forward to refill their glasses. "Luka had a project he needed to work on and Jonas is doing some research."

Bella shifted on the couch so that her back was resting on the arm and her legs were on the cushion in between herself and Elijah. "You know, I've been wondering for a while now, do you actually like the Martin's? I know you guys have teamed up, but do you consider Jonas a friend or is he just a business partner or something."

Elijah looked faintly surprised. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It's just… you don't actually seem to have a lot of friends. Not that I actually know all that much about your personal life when it comes right down to it, but I've never even heard you mention anyone in your past besides your family. And Katherine, I guess, but she's a bitch and doesn't count."

Chuckling at her declaration, he admitted, "There was never a real need for friends in the past- I had my family. Others could be used against us so we tended to avoid outsiders as best we could. I suppose Jonas is as close to a friend as I could have."

"That's just sad," Bella told him bluntly, eyes wide and movements overly exaggerated as the alcohol took more of an effect. "Without friends, who are you going to complain about your family to?"

"Whichever member of my family didn't upset me," he responded, voice light and posture relaxed. She'd never seen him so calm. He'd taken his jacket and tie off earlier and had rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows.

"What are your siblings like?" she asked. Bella was a little worried that her question would upset him but she was also very curious what kind of people the siblings of Elijah and Klaus were.

Keeping his gaze focused on his glass, Elijah carefully considered his words before slowly answering, "My older brother, Finn, had the most trouble accepting what we had become. He struggled for many years to handle the bloodlust, the heightened emotions, and even the changes in our strength and speed. When he turned the woman he loved, we thought that perhaps it was a sign he had finally accepted what he had become. Unfortunately, that was not the case."

Bella's heart clenched at the hints of sadness and guilt in Elijah's eyes. "Is that why Klaus daggered him? Because he couldn't adjust to being a vampire?"

"No, someone else daggered Finn over a hundred years after we had been changed. When Niklaus found him, he chose to allow Finn to remained daggered." He chanced a glance in her direction, but Isabella's expression was blank, her eyes shuttered. "Other than Niklaus, Rebekah was the sibling I was closest to. Out of all of us, she was the most... open. Open to love, to friendship, to happiness. My brothers and I had all quickly grown to expect the worst out of everything but Rebekah kept a hold of her openness even in the darkest of times. Her outlooked helped balance out ours. That's not to say that there weren't times when she felt hopeless for there were far too many, but she never let that feeling get the best of her. From the very beginning, Rebekah was brave and stubborn."

It was shocking, the difference in how he described his two siblings. When speaking of Rebekah, Elijah sounded like any other doting older brother- his voice was laced with affection and grief. But with Finn, while he had still sounded grieved by his brother's passing and guilty over not stopping Klaus from keeping Finn locked away for so many years, he hadn't sounded as caring towards his older brother. It was like he felt guilty about Finn because he believed he should, not because he actually was. And Bella didn't know how to feel about that.

God, Bella couldn't imagine being Finn. Locked away for centuries by a family who seemed to not love you. Was being daggered really like being dead? Or was it similar to how some described being in a coma, aware of the world around them but unable to interact with it? Neither option was good. If it was the first, then how jarring and horrifying would it be for Finn when or if he ever was undaggered to see just how much the world had changed? If it was the latter, then… well, he was probably insane. Stuck in a box, unable to move but still able to know what was happening around him, spending centuries being carted around by a brother who wasn't exactly the definition of 'stable'.

"How is Charlie?" Elijah suddenly asked and Bella started at being pulled from her thoughts so abruptly.

"Oh, uh, he's fine. Well, that might be a stretch. He's still very concerned and wishes I would just come home. I'm worried that calling him so often has been a mistake though." Bella bit her lip, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around her legs and hugging them tightly.

She looked so small and Elijah's heart clenched at the sight. "Why would you think that?" he gently inquired.

Increasing the pressure on her legs to the point that the force on her chest was a comforting sort of painful, Bella shrugged. "I've sounded better the last few weeks. I think… I think Charlie thinks that I'm getting better. My sudden death isn't going to go over well."

Elijah was silent for a long moment. "Would it not have been more painful to leave him more unknowns? It is unlikely that he has forgotten that you are, in fact, dying- surely it has been a comfort to him, knowing that you are being made comfortable? It will not lessen his pain at your passing, but I am positive that he is feeling relieved to know that you are not suffering unduly at the moment."

"Not for the next two days," Bella joked, but it fell short. Neither liked the thought of how worse a state Bella was going to be in when the time came to stop giving her Elijah's blood.

"You're going to be okay," she told him abruptly and Elijah looked at her in confusion. "Like later, once it's all said and done, you're going to be okay." She didn't know why she felt that it was important for him to know it, but Bella couldn't stop herself from trying to reassure Elijah.

"And how can you be so sure of that?"

"The same way that I know my death is something that needs to happen- I just do."

* * *

 **4 Days Before the Sacrifice**

When Bella woke up the next morning, she felt like she was going to die. Her head was pounding, she was covered in sweat, her stomach ached horribly, she was nauseous, and her mouth tasted like something was slowly decomposing on the back of her tongue.

Peeling her eyes open, Bella was vaguely grateful that the blinds were closed in the room- light was not her friend at the moment. There was a glass of juice and two white pills on the nightstand next her and she hauled herself halfway up, taking a sip of juice and popping the pills in her mouth. Her stomach rolled like it was considering forcing her to vomit but Bella just closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The nausea eventually went away and Bella drank a bit more juice before laying back down and pulling the covers over her head, quickly falling back asleep.

A few hours later when she woke up again, Bella felt perfectly fine. She had survived her first hangover without throwing up and she was vaguely proud of that. Pushing herself upright and swinging her legs over the side of the bed, Bella froze at the sight of the glass sitting there. The remains of the juice glowing slightly as the small rays of sunlight peeking through her blinds bounced off the liquid.

She glared at. "Damn it."

Grabbing the glass, she marched out of the room and into the kitchen. Pausing in the doorway, she watched with wide eyes at the sight of Elijah standing at the stove, speaking softly with Luka.

He glanced over his shoulder at her, smiling slightly. "Good morning, Isabella."

"Um," Bella, feeling slightly thrown, before she pulled herself together. "Good morning. I think. Is it still morning? I feel like I slept pretty late after I woke up long enough to take some pills and my daily dose of vampire blood." She lifted up the glass in her hand and shook it slightly. "There is vampire blood in this, right? Why would you give me the pain killers then if the blood would take care of the hangover? What's the point in that?" she rambled.

Elijah turned off the stove and turned to fully face her, posture relaxed and eyes open. "I wasn't sure how much you would be able to stomach so I added the medicine just in case."

"You know about the blood?" Luka asked, smiling at Bella as he kicked out a chair for her in lieu of inviting her to sit down. "And you didn't go on strike? I'm impressed."

Glaring playfully at him, Bella slid into the seat and said, "Don't think I'm not annoyed with you for not saying anything. Thought you were better than that."

"Hey man, that was your mistake." Shutting his textbook, Luka sat back in his seat.

"Why aren't you at school?" Bella abruptly asked, realizing that it was Tuesday and therefore a school day.

"Decided to hang close to home just in case," Luka answered, glancing at Elijah from the corner of his eye. "So, it's your second to last day of feeling relatively normal. Anything you're dying to do before you… you know…"

"Spend a few days feeling like death before actually getting around to the dying bit?" Bella finished dryly. "It's okay, you can say the word. And not really." Turning to look at Elijah again, she asked, "Do you or Klaus have any plans involving me today?"

"None that I have been made aware of," Elijah answered as he brought a plate of food over to her.

Bella looked up at him in surprise. "Oh. I… you didn't have to make food for me. I mean, thank you and I definitely appreciate it but it wasn't necessary or anything."

Elijah just gave her another small smile. "Think nothing of it."

Luka looked down at his phone, hiding his smirk. "We should go out today. Even if it's just going to the Grill or going for a hike at the Falls."

"Haven't you learned by now- me and exercise don't mix well. It might be fun to go to the Grill though." Bella poked at her pancake before cutting off a piece and taking a cautious bite. She hummed in pleasure then. "These are amazing and I can't believe you've been holding out on me for so long."

"I'm glad to see you enjoying it so much," Elijah told her, amused.

"I almost want to ask if there's a special ingredient in these but I also really don't want to know if there is."

"Crack," Luka told her. "There's crack in the powder sugar on top."

"That wouldn't surprise me. First alcohol then drugs- Elijah's thoroughly corrupting me."

Something flashed across the Original Vampire's gaze, something dark and heated, but he turned away before Bella could fully understand it.

"If you would, Mr. Martin, please keep your cell phone on while away from the apartment. At the first sign of trouble, call me."

"You're not going to join us?" Bella asked, automatically ignoring the smidge of disappointment to hear that Elijah wasn't coming. Her crush on him was getting out of hand and she needed to get over it. Though, even if she did embarrass herself, it's not like she would have to live with the humiliation for much longer- a thought that shouldn't have been as comforting as it was.

"Unfortunately not. There are several matters I need to see to before we depart from Mystic Falls."

"Would any of those matters happen to be removing Katherine from the apartment?" she inquired, glancing over at the closet the vampire was still stuck in. "Because she's really starting to freak me out."

Elijah shook his head. "Niklaus wishes for her to accompany us when we travel to complete the ritual. My brother prefers to leave nothing to chance."

Grimacing, Bella said, "Can he really keep her compelled the entire flight? Or, God forbid, the drive?"

"As we are going to charter a private flight, that won't be necessary."

Bella rolled her eyes and shared a look with Luka. "Rich people."

Luka laughed. "Looks like it's just you and me then, Bells. If you're finished gorging yourself on pancakes, we can head out."

* * *

"Going to the bar in the middle of the day feels kind of sad and pathetic," Bella commented as they slid into a booth an hour or so later. "Also, do you really plan on ordering more food? We just ate."

"It's a lighter staff in the afternoon so it'll take longer for them to get the food out," Luka defended his decision. "Besides, it's basically the only restaurant in town so everyone will be here for the lunch time rush soon."

"I don't think that's how it works. Also, aren't you worried about getting into trouble for skipping school?" she asked, not bothering to look at the menu.

"Doubtful," Damon said as he slid into the booth next to Bella. "The truancy laws in this town are rather lax."

Luka frowned at the vampire but Bella remained unbothered. "Day drinking? Trouble in paradise?"

"Well, you know, it's kind of rough going when you find out that your best friend has been taken over by psychotic vampire."

"Two things about that statement," Bella started. "First, aren't most of the vampires you know psychotic? And second, isn't he your only friend?"

Damon waved her comments away. "Semantics."

"This is why you should have multiple friends," she sang and Luka finally relaxed.

"Considering the fact that I'm pretty sure Luka is your only friend, do you really have room to talk?" Damon squinted at her.

"Hey now, remember, I'm dying. I don't need a ton of friends; I just need at least one person who, when it's all said and done, will have a vague notion of where in the woods my body is buried at."

Luka snorted. "Those are some low goals, girl."

"Yeah, well, I'm not classy enough for lofty ambitions."

"So, are you all planning on leaving any time soon?" the vampire asked as he sipped from his glass. "Not that we aren't enjoying your time here- I just want to know what day I should schedule your goodbye party for."

Bella leaned against the wall on the side of the booth and stared at Damon. "You do know that, depending on how much you've annoyed him, Klaus might just come back after the ritual is done for the sole purpose of continuing to torment you, right?"

"He could, if it wasn't for that pesky fact of Elijah planning on killing him during the ritual." Damon raised his glass in a mock toast before giving Bella a piercing look. "Unless you know something that I don't."

"Nope," Bella sighed. "As far as I know, that is still the plan. It's a stupid plan if you ask me, not that anyone has. I understand though- I wasn't taken for my brain, after all. I was taken for my beauty."

Damon laughed. "You're not terrible to look at, I'll give you that."

"Stop," Bella deadpanned. "You're making me blush."

"If you can manage to get away from your guard dog then I can absolutely make that happen." Damon winked at her.

"Sorry, Flynn Ryder, I think your smolder is still broken."

There was a snort of laughter coming from behind Luka and they all turned to see a beautiful dark-skinned woman coming towards them and stopping at their table. "Sorry for the wait," she told Luka and Bella, completely ignoring Damon. She set a glass of water in front of each of them and then glanced at Bella. "You still alive?"

Both of the boys stiffened but Bella didn't even blink. "For the moment but hopefully not for long."

She laughed again and then turned to walk away. "Best of luck to you."

As they watched the woman walk away, Damon turned to study Bella again. "So, you have made more friends than just Luka then?"

Bella frowned at him. "No. Why?" When Damon just gapped at her, Bella looked at Luka. "What?"

"How did that girl know about you dying?"

Clearly unbothered, Bella told him, "Oh, at this point, I just kind of figured that everyone here knows."

"You don't even know her name, but she knows you're dying," Damon told her, as if she was unable to grasp the situation on her own. "And that doesn't concern you at all?"

Sighing, Bella shouted, "Hey," at the other woman who had just stepped behind the bar. "I'm Bella. What's your name?"

The woman glanced over at the table and sighed. "Fuck you, Damon," she shouted back before telling Bella, "I'm Rayvn."

With a smile and a nod, Bella turned back to the boys. "There you go. She's Ravyn. I know her name and she knows I'm dying. We good now?"

"Not really," Damon shrugged. "But I'll let it go- I'm flexible like that."

"That is the main descriptor I hear attached to your name," she agreed. "Along with angry, obsessive, and delusional. Such a colorful collection of adjectives, wouldn't you agree?"

Luka laughed, but when Damon glared at Bella and made an aborted move to grab her arm, the teen quickly turned serious. "You try anything, and I will give you an aneurysm so large you'll spend the rest of the month in agony."

"That is a threat in poor taste," Bella interjected, also eyeing Damon. "I would have gone with 'anything you do to me, Elijah will return to you tenfold simply because he warned you to back off'. Getting your heart ripped out does not sound like a fun way to go, does it, Damon?"

Pulling his hand back, Damon snapped, "You know, you have a lot of faith in a man who has literally spent the last few weeks prepping you like a lamb for slaughter."

Bella just laughed. "You know, I would have thought you of all people would know better than to assume someone's an innocent just because they have big brown eyes." Catching Damon's eye, she told him, "I went into this with eyes wide open. Sure, my consent never really mattered, but that doesn't mean I didn't know and accept what was going on. Elijah's intentions have never been hidden to me."

"Then why not leave?" he asked. "Run? Sure, I get the whole already dying thing, but you seem to have made friends with a pretty powerful witch. There's gotta be a spell to remove that pesky tumor and then presto- you have a future."

"God, you really are one of those people who fight to the bitter end, aren't you? Must be an age thing because guess what, gramps? I'm a millennial; we've all already made our peace with death a while ago. An eternal nap is a life goal for most of us." Before he could say anything else, Bella told him, "Also, you should know that Klaus let Alaric go yesterday. Or, at least, he's no longer in your friend's body. If I were you, I'd go look for him because I can't imagine he's doing well and it'd be really tragic if something else were to happen to him, wouldn't it?"

* * *

 **3 Days Before the Sacrifice**

On her last day of guaranteed health, Bella claimed the kitchen as her own and baked up a storm. Jonas sat at the kitchen table, flipping through multiple grimoires, his attention split between his research and the sound of Bella scolding Luka as he kept stealing the batter for each dessert she worked on. Greta, who had been the one assigned by Klaus to keep an eye on Bella that day, stayed in the living room. Her gaze kept straying away from the TV to stare at her father and the doppelgänger.

Her relationship with her father and her brother since her arrival had been strained to say the least. They couldn't understand how she could willingly align herself with Klaus. They couldn't see the glorious future that Klaus would bring them once his curse was broken. With him, she was valued. Klaus understood how powerful she was and appreciated what she could do. Her family still viewed her as a little girl, a child who needed to be protected at all times. They would have to accept the truth soon though; they would see for themselves just how powerful she was once she broke Klaus' curse.

Greta worried that her father might become an obstacle to Klaus' plans though. The way he watched the doppelgänger… it was the similar to the way he watched Luka- a mixture of caring and protectiveness.

Not unaware of the looks Greta was giving him, Jonas kept his focus firmly on the grimoire page in front of him. When he'd learned that Greta had willingly joined Klaus, and fully supported his plans, Jonas hadn't known what to think. With such a short amount of time left before the ritual though, he had decided to deal with that later. He had been given a task by Elijah and it was one he refused to fail at. There had been many times before where the Original Vampire he'd begun working with had asked him to do something he wasn't altogether comfortable with. This though, this was a request- a challenge- he was more than willing to attempt to do.

"Luka!" Bella shouted, voice filled with laughter. "Stop eating the brownie batter!"

"Never," Luka declared, moving the bowl out of the petite brunette's reach. "It's mine now!"

"You at least have to share," she insisted. When Luka gave her a surprised look, Bella grinned and told him, "I love brownie batter; that was one thing I wasn't planning on baking."

He grinned and brought the bowl down. "In that case, grab another spoon and let's do this."

When Klaus arrived later that afternoon, now in his own body instead of Alaric's, he found the kitchen counters covered in treats. "And what exactly is all this?" he asked.

Bella spun around in surprise, and it took a moment for her to realize who he was. "Klaus?" she asked. "Dang, you do not look like I expected you to."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked with a smirk.

She studied him for a moment. "Why did you leave your shirt open like that? What made you go for a deep V-neck type deal?"

Luka turned away quickly, hiding his chuckles as best he could. Jonas just ducked his head, hiding his grin.

"Such impudence. I've killed people for less you know," Klaus teased, unbothered by her comments. Her attitude really was refreshing; he found her company delightful, even if she was a doppelgänger.

"Well, give it a few days and then you can tell us for sure if killing me really helps with the anger inside," Bella told him dismissively, leaning back against the counter.

* * *

"Your last night of health," Elijah commented, leaning against the frame of Bella's bedroom door. She started at his sudden appearance and stared up at him from where she was curled up on her bed with a book. "I would have expected you and Luka to have plans."

It took a moment for her brain to change focus from her book to Elijah's words but, once it did, she said, "He has some work he needs to hand in tomorrow since he'll be out of town for a few days. I told him that I wanted to make sure I finished this," she showed him the cover of her book, "today anyway so we're good."

"I see." Stepping further into the room, he held out his hand to Bella. "In that case, would you mind joining me on an outing this evening?"

Glancing between Elijah's eyes and his outstretched hand, Bella slowly set her book aside and reached out to place her hand in his. "Alright… what did you have in mind?"

He smiled softly at her and squeezed her hand. "I thought you might like to go for a drive. There's no need for you to change but I would suggest bringing a jacket."

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Bella pulled away and went to grab a sweater she had tossed over the back of the chair by the window. "You're being very mysterious and I have to say, I don't know if I like it."

Chuckling, Elijah offered, "Why don't you wait to see just what I have planned before you make any decisions?"

"Such a reasonable request. I think that's a real first for us."

Half an hour later, Elijah turned his car onto a dirt road. "If it wasn't for the fact that I know it's Klaus who's going to kill me, I'd be worried that you brought me out into the middle of nowhere in order to murder me without anyone hearing my screams," Bella joked. "Not to sound too childish but are we there yet?"

Finally coming to a stop, Elijah put the car in park and turned the engine off. "Yes, we are." Opening his door, he gestured for her to do the same before stepping outside.

Following suit, Bella got out of the car and moved to join Elijah by the trunk. "Seriously, Elijah, what are we doing here?"

Leaning against the car, Elijah told her, "I remember you saying once that one of the things you disliked most about Forks is the fact that it was always cloudy there- that you could never see the sun or the stars."

Bella's eyes widened in shock and her heart skipped a beat. Slowly letting her head fall back, she stared up at the clear, star-strewn sky.

He had remembered. Bella herself had forgotten that she'd made such a comment not long after she'd been brought to Virginia, but Elijah had remembered. He had remembered, and he had gone out of his way to give her this.

"I thought that you might appreciate seeing them again," he continued softly. "One last time."

Against her will, Bella could feel her eyes start to fill with tears. "These stars," she finally spoke, voice choked. "They were the greatest comfort to me growing up. Whenever I was mad or sad or scared, I would go outside and look up at the stars and it was like everything felt less heavy. The world may be a scary place but, at the end of the day, we're all just so very small and insignificant. That thought would probably make other people uncomfortable but, for me, it really made me feel at ease. It wasn't until I moved to Forks that I realized just how important this was to me." She felt slightly frustrated at how inadequately she was explaining this to Elijah, but she couldn't find any better words.

Elijah didn't say anything, just quietly listened to everything she had to say. He could smell the salt from her tears in the air around them. "There weren't a lot of constants in my life growing up," Bella told him. "But the stars? They were always there. And that was really all I ever wanted- something that wouldn't crumple or change on me. Something solid."

"Yes," he finally agreed with her, after a long moment of silence. "Even after a thousand years, the stars in the sky have been the one thing I could always be sure of. Some things may have changed- some stars finally burned out or pollution made them more difficult to see- but they were there all the same."

Bella couldn't tear her gaze away from the sky. "Elijah?"

"Yes?"

There, under the night sky and away from all other people, Bella finally felt ready to confess a truth she'd been denying for a while now. "I'm scared."

His hand slipped into hers and he squeezed tightly. "So am I."

* * *

 **(A/N): Welcome back guys! Sorry, I know it's been awhile but things have been a bit of a mess as of late. Again though, I promise I'm not going to abandon this story.**

 **Now, I know that I said that Chapter 11 would be the big one, but it just got too long and I needed to break it up. Hopefully this was enjoyable enough for you all and you won't, you know, give me too much grief.**

 **This was not beta read so all mistakes are mine. It's also really late here and I didn't have time to give it a proper look over so there are probably more errors in here than I'd like but I wanted to get this to you ASAP.**

 **Thank you for reading! Here's hoping you all have a great week!  
**

 **Please leave a review on your way out!**


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